A former clerk at the Oakdale Post Office was arraigned Wednesday on a 20-count indictment accusing her of rifling through mail and stealing gift cards meant for other people, in a case that authorities say victimized at least seven people. Jovanni Jamison-Lewis, 36, appeared before Acting Supreme Court Justice Bryan Browns in Suffolk County Supreme Court and was released on her own recognizance.
The indictment charges Jamison-Lewis with nine counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, nine counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, petit larceny, and fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, according to Daily Voice. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said the Class E felony charges she faces are non-bail-eligible under New York State law, which is why she was released without having to post bail, as reported by Newsday.
An Undercover Sting Snared Her at the Counter
The case traces back to November 19, 2025, when investigators set up an undercover operation using two sealed outgoing envelopes placed into the mail stream, per Newsday's account of the operation. One contained a greeting card and a $175 T.J. Maxx gift card mailed by a DA investigator, while the other held a greeting card and three New York State Lottery scratch-off tickets.
An undercover officer approached Jamison-Lewis at the Oakdale Post Office and asked to buy a T.J. Maxx gift card, according to the Daily Voice report. Investigators say she instead ripped open the letter containing the gift card and took it for herself. Days later, retail surveillance footage from a Port Jefferson Station store recorded her using that same stolen $175 T.J. Maxx card to buy baby clothing, jewelry, a handbag, and reusable shopping bags, as detailed by CBS New York.
Arrest, Search Warrants, and a Resignation
Suffolk County District Attorney investigators and agents with the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General arrested Jamison-Lewis on November 24, 2025, as she left work, finding four stolen mail items in her purse and two more concealed in her pants, according to News 12 Long Island. Investigators then searched her Mastic Beach home and vehicle, recovering 20 additional pieces of stolen mail containing gift cards valued at roughly $800, per reporting from Patch.
She had worked as a postal clerk at the Oakdale branch for about a year before her arrest, and she resigned on December 1, 2025, News 12 reported. Authorities said several victims of the theft operation were ultimately identified, with the Daily Voice reporting that investigators have tied at least seven people to the scheme. Jamison-Lewis is due back in court on September 16, 2026.
State Charges Instead of Federal Ones
Fourth-degree grand larceny under New York Penal Law § 155.30 is a Class E non-violent felony carrying up to four years in state prison for a first-time offender, according to legal reference site Saland Law. Suffolk prosecutors pursued those state charges rather than federal counts, even though theft of mail by a postal employee is also punishable under 18 U.S.C. § 1709, a federal statute carrying up to five years in prison and fines as high as $250,000 per count.
The Oakdale case lands amid a broader wave of postal-employee theft prosecutions nationwide. U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General agents closed more than 730 internal theft investigations involving postal employees during just the first half of fiscal year 2026, a volume Hoodline previously reported in coverage of a Georgia mail carrier sentenced for stealing more than $1 million in checks. Similar cases have surfaced from Houston to Miami to St. Louis in recent months, each involving postal insiders accused of exploiting access to the mail stream for personal gain.
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