A former U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employee from Charlotte, North Carolina, has been sentenced to prison after stealing nearly $1.9 million in business checks while working at a local post office.
Dontavis Romario Truesdale, 28, was sentenced to two years and three months in federal prison for financial institution fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina. He will also serve two years of supervised release following his sentence.
Court documents reveal that Truesdale worked as a processing clerk at the Ballantyne Post Office in Charlotte between November 2022 and April 2023. During this time, he stole approximately 200 business checks from P.O. boxes, totaling $1.9 million in stolen funds.
Prosecutors said Truesdale sold the stolen checks to co-conspirators, who then used them to commit bank fraud — depositing or counterfeiting the checks and withdrawing funds before banks could detect the fraud.
Truesdale and a co-conspirator were initially charged with five counts of mail theft and one count of fraud, but he later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
Following his sentencing on May 20, Truesdale was released on bond and will report to a federal correctional facility once assigned by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Federal prosecutors emphasized that the case underscores the seriousness of mail theft and financial crimes committed by postal employees, which undermine public trust in federal institutions.
