Metro Detroit Postal Workers Charged In $63M Mail Theft Scheme: Feds

METRO DETROIT — Four people, two of them postal workers, from metro Detroit are facing charges in connection with a $63 million mail theft scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Detroit.

Jaiswan Williams, 31, of Rochester Hills, Dequan Foreman, 30, of Eastpointe, Vanessa Hargrove, 39, of Detroit and Crystal Jenkins, 31, of Detroit, were each charged with conspiracy to aid and abet bank and wire fraud.

They each face up to 30 years in prison if convicted of conspiracy.

Officials also say Williams faces charges for money laundering for activities dating back to October 2022, and for millions of dollars of fraudulent pandemic unemployment insurance benefit claims that were submitted between August and December 2020.

Hargrove and Jenkins, who were United States Postal Service workers, diverted and stole checks and other negotiable instruments from the mail, including many tax refund checks issued by the U.S. Treasury, officials said.

Hargrove and Jenkins sold the checks to Williams and Foreman, who then used Telegram Messenger (a cloud-based, cross-platform instant messaging application) to sell them online, officials said.

One of the Telegram channels was named "Whole Foods Slipsss," which was used to advertise high-dollar checks, officials said.

Officials said another channel, named "Uber Eats Slips," was used to advertise lower-dollar checks.

Officials said the transactions were completed off-platform using multiple electronic payment systems. Those who bought the stolen checks online would then attempt to fraudulently cash them using a variety of methods, officials said.

"When public employees break the public trust, they enrich themselves at the expense of the American taxpayer and undermine the institution itself," United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. said. "We will find and prosecute those who exploit their position for personal gain. We are committed to disrupting these shadowy schemes."