JFK Airport Postal Workers Accused Of Stealing $4M In U.S. Treasury Checks
A lengthy criminal inquiry concluded in Brooklyn earlier this month as an inter-agency team apprehended two postal workers and three suspected accomplices accused of unlawfully cashing government checks totaling millions, according to the New York Police Department.
On July 10, 'amNewYork Metro' reported a police operation in Flatbush, Brooklyn, where several individuals, one armed, were arrested in the early hours. The five individuals, suspected of involvement in the scam, were transported to the NYPD 84th Precinct in unmarked police vehicles.
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Among those arrested were Kevaugh Wellington, 31, and Angel Ortiz, 27, both from Jamaica; Fuquan Bradley, 34, from the Bronx; Mark Dawson, 28, from Brooklyn; and Ky-Mani Straker, 24, from Orange, New Jersey.
The investigation was initiated when Capital One Bank notified authorities about large checks being deposited into accounts that did not match the intended recipients. The checks, including Social Security benefits, Covid-19 stimulus checks and tax refunds, were then funneled into a limited number of accounts.
"In 2022, we became privy, via Capital One, that individuals were ultimately cashing in an inordinate amount of money via international Treasury checks," Janson Savino, NYPD Assistant Chief of Detectives, stated. "A million dollars of these checks were cashed in only approximately 150 accounts. So, start doing the math."
None of the names on the checks matched the accounts where they were deposited, prompting the NYPD to form a task force in collaboration with the Secret Service, Treasury Inspector General, postal police, and financial crimes unit, according to Chief Savino.
After conducting extensive investigations totaling thousands of hours, the task force traced the suspects' activities to the John F. Kennedy International Airport post office. Chief Savino described the post office as a critical point of compromise, revealing that all the stolen checks had been processed through employees stationed there.
According to Savino, the scammers would deposit the checks at a specific ATM before withdrawing the funds from another location to evade detection by the bank. He mentioned that initially, the stolen amount totaled more than $4 million, but upon reviewing the financial records and related documents, they discovered the potential amount could soar to an astonishing $40 million.
The suspects have been charged with conspiring to steal government funds, theft of government funds and possession of stolen mail. The United States Attorney's Office reports Wellington has been charged with theft of mail by a postal service employee and Straker has been charged with passing Treasury Checks bearing forged endorsements.
