What started as a trickle of missing business checks in Smithville has turned into a full-blown criminal case. Former postal employee Dominique Tamez was arrested on Wednesday, Feb. 25 and booked into the Bastrop County Jail in connection with what authorities describe as a multi-year check-forgery and identity-theft operation that touched roughly $1.6 million in business payments.
According to the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation kicked off in July 2023 after local businesses complained that mailed checks never reached their destinations. Investigators say they eventually uncovered a pattern in which checks were intercepted from the mail, altered to change payees and amounts, and then deposited into accounts using mobile banking.
In a press release shared via the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office, deputies said a three-year investigation traced a series of missing outgoing and drop-off checks back to the Smithville post office. The agency said the U.S. Postal Inspection Service launched an internal postal review, and that evidence developed during that process identified Tamez as a “key participant” in the scheme. According to the release, Tamez made incriminating statements during an interview with a federal special agent, and a Bastrop County grand jury returned a true bill of indictment in December on a charge of fraudulent use or possession of identifying information.
How investigators say the scheme worked
Authorities allege that checks mailed or dropped off at the Smithville post office were plucked from the stream of mail, chemically “washed” or otherwise altered, then routed into accounts in the Houston area through mobile deposits. Investigators say the alleged scheme did not surface overnight; instead, a pattern emerged gradually as more businesses stepped forward to report payments that disappeared somewhere between the mailbox and their vendors.
Yahoo News summarized the allegations laid out by the sheriff’s office, including the roughly $1.6 million in compromised checks that ultimately helped trigger a deeper federal review of what was happening in Smithville’s mail stream.
Federal review and postal probe
The Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office says the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the USPS Office of Inspector General opened parallel investigations into the Smithville facility as complaints piled up. In the same press release, the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office said local investigators teamed up with federal postal agents to follow the money, tracing altered checks into accounts outside the county.
The release credits tips from local businesses and interviews with postal special agents for producing the trail of evidence that prosecutors later brought to a grand jury. That testimony, according to the sheriff’s office, helped secure the indictment tied to the alleged check-washing operation.
Legal implications
On Dec. 2, 2025, a Bastrop County grand jury returned a true bill charging Tamez with fraudulent use or possession of identifying information involving five to ten items, which is classified as a third-degree felony under Texas law, the release states. A third-degree felony in Texas carries a potential sentence of two to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000; see the Texas Penal Code.
Prosecutors will weigh the evidence gathered over the course of the three-year probe as the case moves through the Bastrop County court system. At this stage, the charge is an allegation, and Tamez is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Local reaction and context
Even before this case became public, Bastrop County investigators had been sounding the alarm about payment scams targeting local shops. The sheriff’s office has spent the past year urging merchants to rethink how they accept and send payments, especially for large transactions, as more fraud reports roll in.
Community Impact previously quoted Investigator Mark Garcia advising local businesses to stop taking payments over the phone after a rash of fraudulent charges hit the area. Neighboring counties have issued similar warnings about mail theft and check fraud, suggesting the alleged Smithville scheme is part of a broader trend that has law enforcement on edge.
What victims should do
For businesses and residents who suspect a mailed check has gone missing, officials say speed is your friend. The first step is to contact your bank to stop payment and file a fraud claim if needed. After that, authorities recommend reporting suspected theft or tampering to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service as well as to local law enforcement.
The Postal Inspection Service offers an online portal and hotline specifically for mail-related crimes; see the USPS Postal Inspection Service for details on how to file a report and what information to gather. Potential identity-theft victims are also encouraged to submit a report to the Federal Trade Commission at IdentityTheft.gov, which can help with steps to secure accounts, dispute fraudulent activity and monitor credit.
Authorities say Tamez was arrested last Wednesday and booked into the Bastrop County Jail, and that she has since bonded out. Yahoo News reported the bond status and recapped the allegations outlined by the sheriff’s office. Upcoming arraignment or docket dates are expected to appear in Bastrop County court records as filings are made public.
