Postal carrier stole hundreds of checks from her mail route in Illinois, feds say
Hundreds of mail pieces containing checks went missing from a Chicago neighborhood, and now its former postal carrier has pleaded guilty in federal court, authorities said.
In her signed plea agreement, Olivia Bryant said she stole hundreds of pieces of mail that contained checks between about December 2020 and March 2021. The checks included COVID-19 stimulus checks and other U.S. Treasury checks, authorities said.
On Thursday, Sept. 14, she pleaded guilty to a charge of theft from the U.S. mail, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.
The defense attorney representing Bryant, 35, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on Sept. 19.
In one example, Bryant said she stole 11 pieces of First-Class mail on March 17, 2021, according to court records.
Authorities said the mail, which was transferred from her mail satchel to her purse, contained five pieces of government property:
- A $250 U.S. Treasury check.
- A check with $551 in Social Security benefits.
- A $212 tax refund.
- A Treasury check worth $135.
- A $17.62 Treasury check.
Bryant faces up to five years in federal prison, authorities said. Her sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 7.
McClatchy News requested comment from the U.S. Postal Service Office and was awaiting a response.
This story was originally published September 19, 2023 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Postal carrier stole hundreds of checks from her mail route in Illinois, feds say."