BILLINGS — A former U.S. Postal Service employee admitted to a theft charge today after he was accused of stealing mail when he tried to sell $850 worth of sports cards to a Billings sports memorabilia business that had attempted to ship the cards to a different customer, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
The defendant, Zachary Louis Simpson, 37, pleaded guilty to theft of mail by employee. Simpson faces a maximum of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan presided. A sentencing date will be set before U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Simpson was released pending further proceedings.
The government alleged in court documents that between March 27, 2023 and April 3, 2024, Simpson was employed by the U.S. Postal Service and sorted packages at the mail facility in Billings. Simpson had access to and was entrusted with mail during his shifts at the sorting facility. While employed with the Postal Service, Simpson stole packages from the sorting facility and took them home. On March 12, 2024, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General was contacted regarding Simpson. A sports memorabilia business in Billings notified law enforcement that Simpson came into the store to sell $850 of sports cards. The company realized that it had recently attempted to ship those same cards to a different customer through the mail. An investigation determined that the packages containing these cards had transited the postal sorting facility in Billings on a date Simpson was working. Law enforcement conducted a trash pull at Simpson’s residence and found dozens of empty packages in his trash that were addressed to other people at different locations. Investigators executed a search warrant at Simpson’s residence and seized more than 100 additional empty packages that were not addressed to Simpson. Agents also recovered more than 10,000 sports trading cards and other memorabilia. The Postal Service contacted a number of the victims whose packages were found in Simpson’s possession. Many reported that their packages contained sports trading cards that never reached the intended destination.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, conducted the investigation.
