Washington:
A US Postal Service employee in Washington, D.C., allegedly stole about $1.7 million from its residents, Wtopnews reported citing a court document.
According to the Wtopnews website, the civil forfeiture application ordered the seizure of $402,669.95 from the bank account believed to be held by US Postal Service employee Hachikosela Khose Muchimba at the Friendship Post Office Station.
Officials believe the amount may be less than half of the total amount of fraudulent deposits in eight bank accounts, according to Wtopnews.
Wtopnews is a news website from Washington DC.
The filing further stated that Muchimba had deposited approximately 98 embezzled checks into those accounts with a total value of $1,697,909.52. And at least 90 of those embezzled checks were checks from the US Treasury Department.
Investigators included checks stolen from residents dated December 13, 2021. Muchimba first worked as a postman on February 16, 2020 and was assigned to the route in question from January 31, 2021.
Investigators believed that Muchimba had altered U.S. Treasury Department checks and added his name and address before depositing them into bank accounts via mobile apps.
After a search warrant was issued on March 29, law enforcement also recovered receipts for the deposit of more than $400,000 in a bank account in Olney, Maryland, Wtopnews reports.
Prosecutors allege Muchimba was detained as a potential account holder after someone noticed that the name on an amended check matched holiday cards Muchimba issued to residents last December.
The document also shows the postman at local ATMs withdrawing up to $1,000 from said bills.
“Surveillance photos showed the same individual raising $1,000…on four consecutive dates: September 20, 22, September 28, and October 6,” the filing said. “In three of the surveillance photos, it appears that the person is wearing US Postal Service clothing typically worn by employees.”
U.S. Postal Service Inspector General officials told “our news partners at NBC Washington that an investigation is underway,” and a USPS representative said the employee is still on the USPS’ list. However, according to documents from the Attorney General, Muchimba is a “former” postal service employee, Wtopnews reported.
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