Photo – A week’s worth of USPS credit card receipts amounting to over $44,000 found during the investigation.
A postmaster at a post office in Connecticut is serving a four-year prison sentence after he defrauded the Postal Service of over $930,000.
The scheme started in 2022, when the postmaster approached a local repair shop manager hinting about potential bribe payments in exchange for a large increase in vehicle repair work. The manager for the USPS vendor accepted and the postmaster started bringing in significant towing and repair business while the vendor falsely raised the expense amounts. In just over two years, the vendor made more than $1.3 million off USPS.
The postmaster ignored Postal Service policy by bypassing preauthorization for repairs exceeding $250 and not sending invoices after repairs were completed. He was also exploiting a loophole in the Postal Service’s system, which has since been addressed with tighter controls thanks to our investigation.
The postmaster also contacted USPS’s credit card issuer and asked that the cards under his charge be raised to a $50,000 monthly limit with $10,000 daily limits. The bank raised both limits without question and by the end of the scheme, the postmaster was charging about $100,000 a month. The vendor, in turn, gave him two cash payments totaling $90,000. The postmaster also used the postal credit cards to rent luxury vehicles for his personal use.
At the post office, the postmaster bred a culture of fraud, enticing some members of his team to participate in the scheme, such as using the contractor for free personal vehicle repairs. Those smaller frauds racked up about $141,000 for the Postal Service. But our special agents and their partners at the Federal Bureau of Investigation were ready to take it all down.
When confronted, the postmaster lied to investigators, but the evidence collected against him was undeniable. After his arrest, he was terminated from the Postal Service and pleaded guilty to the charges against him. The vendor was sentenced to four years’ probation and the rest of the co-conspirators were brought to account. The postmaster and vendor were also ordered to share restitution of over $930,000. We estimate this joint investigation helped save the Postal Service over $4 million in future fraudulent payments.
If you suspect or know of contract fraud involving Postal Service employees or contractors, please report it to our Hotline.
