A former employee of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from Jamaica was sentenced to five years in federal prison in Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday, April 14, and his former co-worker was sentenced to a year in jail for their participation in a fraudulent scheme in which they stole more than $4 million in U.S. Treasury checks from the JFK Airport Mail Facility, where they worked before they were terminated by the USPS.
Kevaughn Wellington, 33, of Queens, and Ky-Mani Straker, 26, of Orange, NJ, previously pleaded guilty to stealing government funds and conspiring to steal government funds. Wellington and Straker were arrested in Brooklyn with three other men who were not postal workers in July 2024 after a criminal investigation that lasted for more than a year and a half.
“The former postal workers abused their positions at the JFK Mail Facility to fraudulently obtain Treasury checks intended for the well-being of hard-working individuals to whom the funds were owed, and kept the proceeds for themselves,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella said. “Our office is committed to holding accountable individuals who use taxpayer funds to line their own pockets, and today they paid the price for their greed and disregard of the law.”
Wellington and his co-defendant from New Jersey, Ky-Mani Straker were sentenced in Brooklyn federal court. Photo by Dean Moses
From June 2021 through August 2023, the defendants engaged in a scheme to steal and sell Treasury checks mailed for distribution through the JFK Mail Facility. Wellington, who was employed at the facility as a mail clerk, worked with the four other postal workers to steal parcels containing more than 125 of those checks, including social security payments, tax refunds, and COVID-19 relief payments, valued at more than $4 million. In addition to selling the stolen checks, Straker falsely endorsed and deposited stolen checks into a bank account and withdrew the proceeds for his own financial gain.
The USPS Office of the Inspector General launched the investigation with several law enforcement agencies.
“The sentence imposed on the defendants will serve as a reminder that there are severe consequences when individuals commit crimes targeting the U.S. Mail,” USPS-OIC Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modaferri said. “The USPS-OIG is thankful for the great longstanding relationships we have developed with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to combat mail theft.”
Detectives from the NYPD arrested Wellington, Straker and three other co-conspirators in Flatbush, Brooklyn on July 10, 2024, and loaded them into unmarked vans to transport them to the 84th Precinct, where they were booked. Law enforcement uncovered over 350 videos and images from Wellington’s phone depicting Treasury checks that were not addressed to him or Straker.
Wellington was the ringleader of the group, which included Straker and three others who did not work at the JFK Airport Mail Facility. They were separately charged with depositing the stolen checks. QNS file photo
“These defendants undermined the public’s trust in our mail system by stealing more than $4 million in Treasury checks meant for people who were expecting those funds,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. “We rely on the integrity of the postal network, and today’s sentencing holds these fraudsters accountable for their illegal and selfish acts.”
Wellington was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Diane Gujarti to 60 months in federal prison and ordered him to forfeit $100,000. She sentenced Straker to 12 months’ imprisonment and ordered him to forfeit $57,945.56. The defendants were further ordered to pay $405,696.98 in restitution. The other three defendants, Fuquan Bradley, Angel Ortiz, and Mark Dawson, were charged in separate cases for fraudulently depositing the stolen checks. Bradley was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment in June for theft of government funds. Ortiz was sentenced to 15 months’ incarceration and one year of supervised release. Dawson is scheduled to be sentenced on May 29.
“The defendants’ brazen selfishness not only violated the public trust, but directly harmed the citizens they were supposed to serve by illegally siphoning funds — resources those people were relying on — for their own personal gain,” U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Matt McCool said. “The U.S. Secret Service is committed to preserving this nation’s financial integrity and was proud to have had a role in holding these defendants accountable.”