A Charlotte man allegedly stole hundreds of checks from businesses totaling more than $1.9 million while working as a processing clerk for the postal service.
Dontavis Romario Truesdale, 27, faces charges of conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud and theft of mail by a postal employee, based on federal indictments unsealed Thursday. From November 2022 to April 2023, Truesdale worked as a processing clerk at the Ballantyne Post Office in Charlotte.
The indictment alleges that Truesdale used his position as mail processing clerk to steal hundreds of checks of businesses that maintained post office boxes at the Ballantyne Post Office. Truesdale sold the stolen checks to other co-conspirators who committed bank fraud, by depositing the stolen checks into bank accounts they controlled, and then removed the funds before the banks detected the fraud.
As alleged in the indictment, over the course of the scheme, Truesdale stole more than 200 checks with a face value of more than $1.9 million.
Truesdale was released on bond following his initial appearance in court. The bank fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. The charge of theft by a postal employee has a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison for each of the five counts charged in the indictment.
Truesdale could not be reached for comment.