What we know about 5 people indicted in a $24M stolen check scheme involving USPS mail carriers on Houston routes

Key Points:

• Five individuals, including three U.S. Postal Service mail carriers, have been federally indicted for allegedly participating in a stolen-check scheme involving nearly $24 million in stolen checks.
• Tryston Tremaine Vaughn is accused of recruiting postal workers Catherine Clauzelle Kilpatrick, Drakkor Jamar Alexander, and Malcolm Tiree Joubert to steal checks from their mail routes, which were then sold via a Telegram channel called "slipsandchips."
• The stolen checks ranged in value from thousands to over $1.5 million, with Joubert allegedly stealing the largest check worth $1,517,875.27; the checks were shipped to buyers through FedEx.
• All five defendants face charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and multiple counts of bank fraud, while the three postal workers face additional charges for theft of mail matter by a postal employee.
• Prosecutors plan to seek forfeiture of property and monetary judgments if the defendants are convicted; prior unrelated criminal cases involving Vaughn and Bryant were dismissed and are separate from these federal charges.