A former Baltimore mail clerk has admitted he quietly turned the mailroom into his own personal bank, skimming checks out of the mail and funneling the money into his accounts over more than a year, federal prosecutors say.
Derrick Stewart, 34, a onetime clerk at a Baltimore mail processing facility, pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to a trio of charges: mail theft by a postal employee, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors say that from September 2022 through December 2023, Stewart pulled checks from the mail stream, forged victims' names and signatures, then deposited the proceeds into his own bank accounts. The scheme collapsed when agents executed a search warrant outside the facility, where investigators recovered nearly 200 pieces of mail and more than $700,000 in checks, according to court filings described by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The office credited the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and IRS Criminal Investigation with helping unravel the operation, which allegedly relied on stolen checks that were fraudulently endorsed before being run through Stewart's personal accounts. Sentencing is still to come.
Investigation and recovery
Investigators say they did not have to guess where the money was going. Surveillance footage reportedly showed Stewart depositing the fraudulently endorsed checks into his own accounts, a paper trail that helped agents build the case. On December 2, 2023, law enforcement moved in with a search warrant shortly after he walked out of the Baltimore postal facility.
That search turned up almost 200 pieces of mail and more than $700,000 in checks, according to reporting by Daily Voice. Court documents reviewed by prosecutors describe a sweeping check fraud scheme tied to Stewart's time at the processing center, with stolen mail stashed and rerouted while legitimate customers waited for payments that never showed up.
Where this fits into a wider pattern
Postal investigators say schemes like this are not a one-off. Check theft and identity fraud rings have become a recurring target of federal crackdowns as criminals exploit stolen mail and so-called master keys that open collection boxes and mailrooms across entire routes.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service's FY2024 annual report describes surge operations and the recovery of thousands of pieces of stolen mail, along with an aggressive push under its Project Safe Delivery initiative to protect postal workers and customers. According to USPIS, those efforts have led to dozens of arrests and significant recoveries nationwide, a sign that investigators are trying to stay ahead of increasingly brazen thieves.
Local alarm
In and around Baltimore, stories like Stewart's land in a city already on edge about mail theft. Recent coverage has highlighted a string of cases where thieves used stolen postal keys and other tactics to intercept checks and money orders, leaving residents and small businesses scrambling to clean up the financial mess.
Local reporting has documented community frustration and mounting pressure on lawmakers to toughen safeguards, from hardening collection boxes to tightening control of mail routes. WBAL has tracked those developments and inspector general audits that raised alarms about unsecured "arrow keys" that can open multiple postal collection points at once.
How to report suspected theft
If a check you mailed never lands, or your bank statements show deposits or withdrawals you do not recognize, postal inspectors say do not wait it out. Report suspected mail or check theft to the Postal Inspection Service and contact your bank immediately.
Postal inspectors take reports online at uspis.gov/report or by phone at 1-877-876-2455. Banks can often reverse unauthorized deposits or transfers if they are flagged quickly, and investigators say prompt reporting helps them link patterns across routes and tie individual complaints to larger federal cases.
What Stewart faces
Stewart is staring down a significant prison term. Federal prosecutors say he faces a statutory maximum of 27 years behind bars, which includes a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence for the aggravated identity theft conviction. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Officials say the plea underscores how seriously federal law treats postal employees who abuse their access to the mail. Authorities are urging anyone who suspects they were caught up in the scheme to preserve documents, notify their bank and cooperate with investigators as the case moves toward sentencing. The U.S. attorney's office and postal inspectors say the investigation is still active.
