A U.S. Postal Service worker was indicted for stealing over $1.5 million in checks and conducting pandemic-related fraud after his fingerprints were discovered on mail.
The USPS Processing and Distribution Center in St. Louis fired Anthony Virdure II, 29, for processing all first-class mail. He allegedly stole checks from the mail for months.
Virdure also worked for USPS, where he was accused of fraudulently obtaining a COVID-19 relief loan for a bogus tobacco company called Virdure Dynamics, misrepresenting its income, and using his grandmother’s residence, according to The Charlotte Observer.
Authorities believe that his fraudulent operations resulted in a total value of more than $1.5 million from the checks and $20,832 from a Pandemic Protection Program loan.
The United States District Court charged Virdure with three counts of mail theft and one count of wire fraud, according to a news statement announcing the indictment. If proven guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for wire fraud, five years for each count of mail theft, or a combination of the two.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll is currently prosecuting Virdure’s case, which has sparked interest from the United States Postal Inspection Service, highlighting their commitment to combating mail theft and fraud.
“The Postal Inspection Service and its law enforcement partners will aggressively investigate those who steal or defraud individuals or businesses of money and property,” stated John Jackman, director of the US Postal Inspection Service in St. Louis.
