More than 80 people have been charged in a scheme in which the suspects deposited checks stolen through the U.S. Postal Service into various bank accounts, totaling nearly $5 million in losses in a widespread mail theft operation, authorities said Friday.
The fraud scheme began in 2018 when people deposited altered checks stolen from the mail into “numerous” bank accounts, said Carroll Harris, the inspector in charge of the Los Angeles division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
“The suspects would swiftly withdraw the money before the financial institutions discovered the checks were forged,” he said during a news briefing to announce the charges. “This investigation identified hundreds of victims across California.”