According to federal authorities, a former United States Postal Service employee in Charlotte, North Carolina was sentenced for stealing more than $20,000,000 worth of checks.

Nakedra Shannon, 30, was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud and theft of government property, Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced in a news release on Feb. 7.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Shannon, Carter, and Gardner were also ordered to pay $113,333.87 in restitution. Shannon’s co-conspirators, 30-year-old Desiray Carter and 28-year-old Donell Gardner were both sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for their roles in the scheme.

According to King, the three had made a criminal gain totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars through their mail theft scheme.

What Did Nakedra Shannon and Her Co-Conspirators Do?

Shannon was a mail clerk at the USPS Charlotte Distribution Center from March 2021 to July 2023. She admitted in court that from April to July 2023 she conspired with Gardner and Carter to steal incoming and outgoing checks from the U.S. mail, King said.

According to a court document, three co-conspirators stole checks totaling $24,000,000, including checks worth more than $12,000,000 sold via Telegram, and checks worth more than $8,000,000 stolen from the U.S. Treasury.

The court document states that Gardner used Telegram as “RonnieHicks”.

How Were the Conspirators Able to Carry Out Their Plan?

According to the indictment, once the checks arrived, Gardner and Carter sold them to various individuals, including through a Telegram channel called OG Glass House. The three co-conspirators stole a total of $24 million in checks, including over $12 million sold via the Telegram channel and more than $8 million in stolen U.S. Treasury checks, the court documents state.

The indictment claims that the three conspirators provided customer service for purchasers of stolen checks sold by OG Glass House. This included a guarantee of replacement checks if a stolen check was “returned” or “bad work”.

According to the indictment, an undercover law enforcement agent contacted Carter in May 2023 to purchase a check valued at $1,561.22. A month later, another undercover agent reached out to Carter regarding a $230 check available for sale, the court documents state.

According to court records, Carter, Shannon, and Gardner were all arrested in mid-November 2023.