“We created a task force last year to address the problem of stolen U.S. Treasury checks in Georgia. At that time, our state ranked third in the country in the number of federal tax refund, Social Security, and Veterans checks reported stolen by their intended recipients.” Yates said in a statement.
While billions of pieces of mail safely reached their destinations this year, postal employees in Georgia pocketed over 1,300 federal checks, pleading this month to stealing nearly $3 million in Treasury checks — including veterans checks, Social Security checks, and tax refunds.
Gerald Easton of Stockbridge, Georgia plead guilty to the theft in early December, which occurred while he was working as a supervisor at an Atlanta mail distribution center and to conspiring with another employee at the facility. Four other non-postal workers have plead guilty to their roles in the conspiracy.
Paul Bowman, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Postal Service in the Office of Inspector General, noted that Easton and his co-conspirator Deborah Fambro-Echols (who plead guilty in late November) are a few bad eggs among a group that is largely committed to fulfilling their mission.
“We take these cases very serious and investigate them to the fullest extent of the law. The majority of Postal Service employees are honest, hardworking, and committed to providing the timely and reliable service that customers expect and deserve,” Bowman said in a statement.
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