Former Ohio postal service employee sentenced after stealing nearly $2 million worth of checks from the mall

A Cleveland man and former USPS employee was sentenced to more than three years in prison earlier this month after stealing nearly $2 million worth of mailed checks.

On May 14, Gregory Drake, a 35 year-old Cleveland man, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison.

According to court documents, in May of 2022, businesses began reporting that checks mailed through the Lakewood, Ohio post office had gone missing, These reports promoted an investigation by USPS inspectors.

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Due to his role, Drake had access to all USPS mail pieces that went through the Lakewood facility, and he could identify which mailed items contained checks. In October of 2022, he was caught stealing two checks. Investigators later learned he would pass off the stolen checks to co-conspirators, who would deposit them.

It was discovered that Drake stole at least 127 checks, totaling $1,988,715.78.

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