Darian Smith, a former rural carrier associate in St. Mary’s County, faces 10 felony counts for allegedly unlawfully opening mail.
CALIFORNIA, Maryland — A former substitute mail carrier faces 10 felony charges for allegedly stealing more than $80,000 worth of checks from customers in Maryland.
Federal prosecutors filed criminal charges Monday against Darian Smith who, until March, had worked as a substitute mail carrier out of the U.S. Postal Service’s office in California, Maryland.
According to an affidavit filed in federal district court in Maryland, between December 2023 and March of this year, Smith was working as a rural carrier associate in St. Mary’s County. Investigators were first alerted to a possible problem on his route when a customer reported two business checks were stolen from her mail and fraudulently cashed.
Investigators learned the first check for $1,000 had been sent from a locked mail deposit slot at her office in December. The check did not receive its destination and was instead allegedly deposited into a bank account belonging to “Darian Smith.” The second check was an incoming check for $5,585 that never arrived and was instead also allegedly deposited into the “Darian Smith” bank account.
