The sting happened at a time when the institution was processing more than 350 million mail pieces per day last holiday season (1). According to Cobb County police and court records, Isis Hinson, who worked at the U.S. Post Office on East Cobb Road, was charged with theft after officials say she targeted mail containing cash and gift cards.
The investigation was launched when a fellow letter carrier flagged an unusual pattern of opened envelopes turning up near cluster mailboxes in an Acworth neighborhood.
“Envelopes containing greeting cards had been opened and or stolen, and some of those contained cash and or gift cards,” Cobb County Police Sgt. Eric Smith told Fox 5 Atlanta (2).
Investigators then set up a gift card sting, slipping an envelope containing a $10 Walmart gift card into the Marietta East Cobb post office as an “integrity test”. Court records note the card didn’t go unnoticed. It was allegedly activated and used to buy an iPad, along with several Apple subscriptions.
