Former Sacramento County Mail Carrier Arrested for Stealing Checks and Credit Cards from the Mail to Pay for Gambling and Personal Expenses

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A federal grand jury returned an 11-count indictment against Jimbert Escalicas, 41, of Sacramento, charging him with bank fraud, identity theft, misuse of a Social Security Number, aggravated identity theft, and mail theft by a postal employee, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, Escalicas began working for the U.S. Postal Service in September 2023. His duties included delivering mail to routes in Sacramento County. From November 2023 through October 2024, Escalicas stole checks, gift cards, debit cards and credit cards from mail destined for Postal Service customers on his routes. Escalicas forged the account owners' signatures on checks he stole and altered checks to make them payable to himself. He then deposited the forged and altered checks into accounts he controlled. At times, Escalicas sold stolen checks to others. To activate and use the credit cards he stole, Escalicas contacted the issuing financial institutions and provided the card owners' personally identifiable information. Escalicas stole no less than 130 checks and cards with a total value of more than $620,000.

The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General is conducting the investigation. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Moody is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Escalicas faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine on the bank fraud charges, five years in prison and a $250,000 on each of the charges for identity theft, Social Security Number misuse, and mail theft, and a two-year mandatory prison sentence and a $250,000 fine on the aggravated identity theft charge. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.