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Thousands of Stolen Checks Sold to Criminals by Alabama Postal Worker, Feds Reveal

WPBN: A former postal worker in Alabama was found guilty of stealing checks and selling them to crooks. According to federal authorities, the person is 24-year-old Michael Rowser, who was convicted of conspiring to provide administrators of a fraudulent Telegram channel with stolen checks.

This channel, dubbed “The Lucky Shop,” served as a criminal bazaar for counterfeit and stolen checks. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama announced the conviction in a press statement on January 8, 2025.

At the end of the three-day trial, a jury found the defendant guilty. In addition to conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, Rowser was found guilty of conspiracy to receive bribes. On January 13, McClatchy News attempted to reach Rowser’s lawyer for a statement, but they did not immediately receive a response.

The indictment claims that Rowser worked from July 2021 to October 2023 as a mail sorter at a postal facility in Birmingham, Alabama. He consented to steal mail for the administrators of “The Lucky Shop” during this time.

The purpose of this Telegram channel was to sell counterfeit and stolen checks, and its administrators depend on dishonest postal workers like Rowser to provide them with stolen checks.

According to the prosecution, workers like Rowser would give the administrators of “The Lucky Shop” cheques that had been stolen. The stolen cheques would then be advertised for sale on the Telegram channel by posting redacted pictures of them.

Thousands of Stolen Checks Sold to Criminals by Alabama Postal Worker, Feds Reveal

Rowser would receive some of the money made from these sales as payment for his involvement in the scam.

For his role in this illegal conduct, Rowser was paid more than $106,000 in bribes between September 2022 and August 2023, according to court records.

Rowser’s sentencing date is set for April 7, 2025, and it is anticipated that more information regarding the punishments he will get will be revealed at that time.

In recent years, mail theft has grown significantly.

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The COVID-19 pandemic’s early phases saw a sharp increase in mail theft allegations. 299,020 complaints of mail theft were filed between March 2020 and February 2021, according to a report released in September 2023 by the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Postal Service.

Comparing this to the same time last year, there was a 161% increase.

The federal government has asked people to report any suspected mail theft. Either online or by phoning the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s dedicated hotline at 1-877-876-2455, reports can be sent.

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This program is a part of a larger effort to stop mail theft and hold anyone who use the postal system illegally accountable.

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