Richmond postal employee sentenced to four years in prison for $1.5M stolen check fraud scheme

RICHMOND, Va. - A North Chesterfield man was sentenced today to four years in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

According to court documents, from Oct. 24, 2021, to May 5, 2025, Joshua Lee, 28, was employed as a mail processing clerk at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Richmond Processing and Distribution Center (RPDC). From around July 2023 to May 2025, Lee searched for mail likely to contain gift cards, checks, or cash, and secretly moved that mail to other parts of the RPDC to hide it with his personal belongings. He would then remove the stolen mail from the RPDC during his breaks and at the end of his shifts. Lee would then notify his co-conspirators that he had stolen checks available for sale, knowing that his co-conspirators intended to fraudulently cash or deposit them.

During the conspiracy, Lee stole at least $1,581,953.59 in checks transiting through the RPDC.

The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carla Jordan-Detamore prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District CourtLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACERLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. by searching for Case No. 3:25-cr-157.