Dontavis Romario Truesdale, a former postal worker from Charlotte, has been sentenced to 27 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for financial institution fraud. Truesdale was involved in a scheme where he stole $1.9 million in business checks from the post office where he worked. This announcement was made by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
The investigation and announcement were supported by Jeff Krafels, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General for the Mid-Atlantic Area Field Office, Rodney Hopkins, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department.
Court records reveal that between November 2022 and April 2023, Truesdale worked as a processing clerk at the Ballantyne Post Office in Charlotte. During this time, he used his position to steal hundreds of business checks from post office boxes at that location. These stolen checks were then sold to co-conspirators who committed bank fraud with them. The total face value of these stolen checks exceeded $1.9 million.
After his sentencing hearing, Truesdale was released on bond and will report to a federal facility once designated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson expressed gratitude towards USPS-OIG, USPIS, and CMPD for their roles in investigating this case.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Smith from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.