Former USPS employees pleads guilty to stealing mail and committing PPP loan fraud

Atlanta - Former mail recovery clerk Daniqua Clark has pleaded guilty to stealing cash, gift cards, and other items from the mail while working at the Atlanta Mail Recovery Center and fraudulently obtaining two pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, and former mail recovery clerk Deneeka Ferguson has pleaded guilty to participating in the mail theft scheme.

"Clark abused the public's trust by stealing thousands of dollars of items from the mail and obtaining two fraudulent PPP loans for a non-existent business while serving as a federal employee," said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. "We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to root out and hold accountable government employees who compromise their integrity and violate the public's trust for their own personal gain."

"This guilty plea sends a strong message to any U.S. Postal Service employee who decides to violate the public's trust in this manner," said Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Ulrich of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS-OIG). "As proven in this case, our criminal investigators and the legal teams at the U.S. Attorney's Office will diligently pursue anyone who steals U.S. Mail and attempts to commit COVID-19 fraud and exploit programs created to help legitimate people and businesses affected by the global pandemic."

According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: In 2023 and 2024, Daniqua Clark and Deneeka Ferguson worked as mail recovery clerks at the Mail Recovery Center in Atlanta, Georgia, the official "lost and found" department for undeliverable and non-returnable mail for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Between May 2023 and February 2024, Clark worked with Ferguson to steal items from the mail at the Mail Recovery Center. Clark and Ferguson exchanged text messages identifying specific items from the mail to steal and discussing how to steal and conceal the theft of those items, including U.S. currency.

During an interview with law enforcement agents on November 19, 2024, Clark admitted to stealing items from the mail both on her own and with Ferguson. Searches of Clark's U.S. Postal Service locker and personal car led to the recovery of various stolen items, including gift cards, fragrances, and a pill container in the name of an unknown individual. In an interview with law enforcement agents on February 18, 2025, Ferguson admitted to helping Clark steal mail and receiving stolen mail from Clark in exchange for her help.

The investigation further revealed that Clark fraudulently obtained two PPP loans, totaling $36,402, for a non-existent business. To support her application for the loans, Clark submitted a fake income tax document. The funds from the loans were deposited in the same Atlanta-based bank account into which Clark received her salary from the USPS. Clark used those funds for personal expenses, not payroll expenses as required for PPP loans.

Daniqua Clark, 35, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit mail theft, one count of mail theft, and two counts of wire fraud. Deneeka Ferguson, 41, of Atlanta, Georgia pleaded guilty to five counts of obstruction of mail. Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for June 11, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Steven D. Grimberg.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division's prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the enactment of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 200 defendants in more than 130 criminal cases and has seized over $78 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney's Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.