Mail Woman Steals Over 6,000 Greeting Cards Filled With Money

Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images

The Postal Worker Pleaded Guilty For Her Actions

One U.S. Postal Service worker was stealing all the dollars while on the job.

According to New York Daily News, Ebony Lavonne Smith of Wisconsin pled guilty to stealing checks and cash from over 6,000 greeting cards. The 20-year-old admitted to taking the money as part of a plea deal earlier this month.

She started her job working for the USPS in March 2015. In the summer of 2017, residents within Smith’s assigned zip codes started complaining that they weren’t receiving their cards.

Online court documents explained that Smith was caught stealing after a test card containing a $20 bill was placed in her container to be delivered on her route. The envelope for the card held a transmitter that would activate if the card was opened.

Postal authorities kept a close watch on Smith as they were investigating. Reports say she even looked through other mail routes’ trays to take out greeting cards for her own tray.

In Smith’s vehicle, a company satchel containing 31 USPS greeting cards was found, along with 23 other greeting cards, a Starbucks gift card, a roll of tape and letter openers.

Smith told authorities she started stealing when she began her route in Washington Highlands. She used the money to pay bills and to support her four children, according to documents.

According to ABC News, at first, Smith was stealing $40 a week over one to two days, . But this eventually increased to between $50 and $100 a week. Smith also admitted that she used the tape found in her vehicle to reseal some of the cards. Smith was fired from her job earlier this year.

“The vast majority of U.S. Postal Service personnel are dedicated, hard-working public servants dedicated to moving mail to its proper destination [and] who would never consider engaging in any form of criminal behavior,” public information officer for the postal service Jeff Arney said. “This type of alleged behavior within the Postal Service is not tolerated.”

Cards that were found will be sent to the original intended recipients, according to Arney. Anybody else who wants to claim a loss can do that through the court process.