Gregory Drake, a 35-year-old former postal worker from Cleveland, has been sentenced to 41 months in prison. U.S. District Judge Bridget Meehan Brennan issued the sentence following Drake's guilty plea to charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and theft of mail by a postal employee. The case involved a scheme where stolen checks were handed over to accomplices for alteration and subsequent deposit at banks.
The investigation was initiated after businesses in Lakewood, Ohio, reported numerous instances of stolen checks in May 2022. These checks had either been mailed into or out of the Lakewood Post Office, prompting an inquiry by the U.S. Postal Service-Office of the Inspector General (USPS-OIG).
Drake was employed as a postal worker at the Lakewood Post Office during this period, granting him access to mail under USPS custody. He exploited this position to identify and steal mail containing checks. These stolen checks were then given to co-conspirators who altered, duplicated, or forged them.
On October 6, 2022, inspectors from USPS-OIG apprehended Drake while he was stealing two business checks from the mail.
Further investigation revealed that a total of 127 checks were stolen over time, amounting to $1,988,715.78 in value.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Service-Office of the Inspector General and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brenna L. Fasko for the Northern District of Ohio.
For reporting fraud-related issues, individuals can visit https://www.uspis.gov/report.