Former postal employee sought for allegedly stealing checks from the mail
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WFSB/Gray News) - Authorities are looking for a former postal service employee facing charges of fraud, identity theft and mail theft offenses.
Kierra Blount, 34, was indicted by a federal grand jury in New Haven, Connecticut.
The 10-count indictment, which was returned on March 26 and unsealed on Thursday, said Blount stole mail and obtained stolen mail to get checks that were payable to other people.
Around November 2021, the indictment claims Blount opened a bank account using the name and social security number of a victim without that person’s knowledge.
According to the indictment, Blount, along with others, fraudulently changed the payee names on stolen checks to the name of the identity theft victim, forged the victim’s signature on the back of the checks and deposited them into the bank account Blount opened.
From November 2021 until the account was closed in April 2022, Blount and others deposited tens of thousands of dollars in fraudulent checks into the account, the indictment said.
The indictment charged Blount with eight counts of bank fraud, an offense that carries a maximum prison term of 30 years for each count; one count of aggravated identity theft, an offense that carries a mandatory prison term of two years; and one count of unlawful possession of stolen mail, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.
Blount is described as being 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighing 170 pounds. She has brown eyes and black hair.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service said a reward of up to $100,000 was available for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
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