A former employee of the United States Postal Service pleaded guilty to issuing fraudulent money orders and pocketing nearly $77,000, federal prosecutors said. Matthew Dundas, 26, from Petersburgh, confessed to using his position within the USPS to issue 105 money orders to himself without ponying up any payment between January 2023 and September 2024, "stealing from the government," which, as Acting U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III remarked, "is a serious crime under any circumstance, but it is especially shocking when the perpetrator is a public servant engaged in self-dealing," in a statement obtained by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.
This case was brought forward through the efforts of USPS-OIG agents, who are responsible for maintaining the integrity of the Postal Service and its workforce. According to Matthew M. Modafferi, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Area Field Office of the USPS OIG, "Our office will continue to vigorously investigate Postal Service employees who violate the public’s trust," as per the press release.
Coordination between the USPS OIG and the U.S. Attorney’s Office played a role in addressing criminal conduct involving Postal Service employees. Sentencing is scheduled for January 14, 2026. Dundas faces a maximum of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release. The final sentence will be determined by U.S. District Judge Anne M. Nardacci, based on federal guidelines and the specific circumstances of the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Wentworth-Ping is overseeing the prosecution of the case, which remains under investigation by the USPS-OIG. Although Dundas has entered a guilty plea, the investigation is ongoing to determine the full scope of the fraud and to support efforts aimed at preventing similar violations of trust within the Postal Service.
