A former mail carrier has been sentenced to two years in federal prison after prosecutors said he “repeatedly” broke into a post office, stole checks from mail and tried to cash them with forged signatures.
Zachary Johnson, 41, worked part-time for the U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak said Monday in a statement.
Authorities said while he was employed there, he broke into the post office in Snellville and stole mail.
“After stealing the mail, Johnson would look through it for checks and money orders, then change the payees on those instruments to make them payable to himself, and cash them at local banks,” Pak said in the statement.
Johnson was arrested June 28, 2018, after a teller at a Regions bank accused him of trying to cash a check with a forged signature from a longtime branch customer and reported him to Snellville police.
When investigators searched Johnson’s car, they said they found five bins of stolen mail in the trunk.
Johnson was released on bond by a Gwinnett County judge, but continued to steal mail, prosecutors said. While on bond, he was captured on surveillance video breaking into the post office again, Pak said.
Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of mail theft. After his time in prison, he will have to serve three years of supervised released.
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