Former postal clerk pleads guilty to mail theft, wire fraud & identity theft in Baltimore

BALTIMORE (WBFF) — A former U.S. Postal Service employee in Baltimore has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges tied to a check-fraud scheme involving stolen mail, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

Derrick Stewart, 34, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to federal mail theft by a postal employee, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents, beginning in September 2022 and continuing until December 2023, Stewart used his position as a clerk at a mail processing and distribution center in Baltimore to embezzle mail, including checks.

Prosecutors said Stewart then falsely and fraudulently endorsed stolen checks using identity theft victims’ names and signatures.

Surveillance video captured Stewart depositing stolen and fraudulently endorsed checks into his personal bank accounts, the release said.

On Dec. 2, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Stewart after he exited a postal facility, according to the release. During the search, investigators recovered almost 200 pieces of mail containing more than $700,000.

Stewart faces a maximum sentence of 27 years in prison, including a mandatory sentence of two years consecutive to any other imposed sentence for aggravated identity theft.

A sentencing date has not yet been set.

U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes announced the guilty plea along with Executive Special Agent in Charge Kathleen Woodson of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General’s Mid-Atlantic Area Field Office and Executive Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Washington, D.C., Field Office.