Postal worker caught using Amazon gift cards swiped from Christmas card, feds say
A U.S. Postal Service worker is accused of stealing gift cards from the mail in Missouri.
Joseph S. Wilkins, 56, pleaded guilty to embezzlement of mail by a U.S. Postal Service employee, according to a Dec. 10 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
McClatchy News reached out to Wilkins’ attorney on Dec. 11 but did not immediately hear back.
From December 2023 to April, Wilkins stole 10 to 12 gift cards from the mail, prosecutors said. The gift cards added up to roughly $500.
Investigators began looking into Wilkins after a Christmas card with two Amazon gift cards inside was mailed from California but never made it to a home in Cape Girardeau, officials said.
The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General conducted an investigation and discovered that Wilkins used the gift cards, prosecutors said.
Wilkins later told investigators that he “manipulated customer mail to identify any gift cards inside,” officials said.
Wilkins is scheduled to be sentenced on March 11. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Cape Girardeau is about a 115-mile drive southeast from St. Louis.
This story was originally published December 11, 2024 at 1:38 PM with the headline "Postal worker caught using Amazon gift cards swiped from Christmas card, feds say."
