Five individuals, including three mail carriers from the U.S. Postal Service, have been charged in a federal indictment for their alleged involvement in a scheme to steal checks and resell them. Federal prosecutors estimate that the total value of the stolen checks amounts to approximately $23,973,338.15.
The indictment, issued by a federal grand jury in Houston, names Tryston Tremaine Vaughn, Alyssa Nadine Bryant, along with the three postal employees: Catherine Clauzelle Kilpatrick, Drakkor Jamar Alexander, and Malcolm Tiree Joubert. All five defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud. Additionally, Kilpatrick, Alexander, and Joubert face extra charges for theft of mail matter as postal employees.
Prosecutors allege that the conspiracy began in October 2022. Vaughn is accused of recruiting the mail carriers to pilfer checks from their designated postal routes throughout Houston. Following the theft, Vaughn and Bryant purportedly met with the postal workers to purchase the stolen checks, which were then advertised for sale on a Telegram channel called “slipsandchips.” The checks were subsequently shipped to buyers across the nation via FedEx.
While federal prosecutors have provided insight into the scheme, details regarding additional unnamed co-conspirators or the buyers who acquired the stolen checks through Telegram remain undisclosed.
