By Forum Staff
Four separate indictments recently were unsealed at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn charging five defendants with crimes related to the fraudulent theft and deposit of checks issued by the United States Department of the Treasury, prosecutors said last Wednesday.
As alleged in the indictments, two of the defendants, Kevaughn Wellington and Ky-Mani Straker—both former U.S. Postal Service employees—allegedly sold the checks which were stolen from a USPS mail facility located at the John F. Kennedy International Airport Mail Facility where Wellington worked. The other three defendants fraudulently endorsed and deposited Treasury checks that were not addressed to them. Four of the defendants were arrested Wednesday morning. One of the defendants remains at large.
As alleged in the indictment, between at least June 2021 and August 2023, Wellington, 31, and Straker, 24, engaged in a scheme to steal and sell Treasury checks intended for, among other things, individuals entitled to Social Security benefits, COVID-19 stimulus checks and tax refunds. Wellington, a Jamaica resident, stole parcels containing Treasury checks from the JFK Mail Facility where he was employed at the time as a postal worker. Then, together with Straker and others, Wellington sold the stolen Treasury checks for a cut of the profit.
As part of the scheme, Wellington and Straker stole over 125 Treasury checks valued at more than $4 million. Straker falsely endorsed and deposited stolen Treasury checks in a bank account and withdrew the deposited funds for his own financial gain.
The defendants have been charged with conspiring to steal government funds, theft of government funds and possession of stolen mail. In addition, 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.
As alleged in the remaining indictments, Angel Ortiz, 27, also of Jamaica; Mark Dawson, 28; and Fuquan Bradley, 34, each deposited and falsely endorsed Treasury checks in excess of $1,000 that were not addressed to them.
Each defendant has been charged separately with theft of government funds and passing Treasury checks bearing forged endorsements.
“The former postal workers abused their positions of trust to allegedly pull one of the biggest thefts at John F. Kennedy International Airport,” Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said. “The charges allege these five defendants stole, sold and fraudulently deposited millions of dollars in U.S. Treasury checks, which included pandemic relief payments, for their own financial benefit. Criminals who cash in on checks stolen from the mail can expect to fill out change of address forms for the federal prison they will be calling home.”
United States Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick Freaney added, “This 21-month investigation brought down a brazen criminal enterprise whose very existence violated the public trust. I want to commend the United States Postal Inspection Service, along with our many partners for rooting out this flagrant corruption through persistent and exacting investigative work. The Treasury checks stolen in this case disrupted thousands of lives and siphoned funds from the pockets of the very people the accused were expected to serve.”
