MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A federal grand jury indicted 11 former FedEx Express employees and two former contractors for the U.S. Postal Service on allegations of mail theft.
The indictments were announced Monday in a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Here is some of that press conference. See Tweet below pic.twitter.com/uq7WrQXbqH
— Siobhan Riley (@SiobhanRileyTV) September 17, 2018
All 13 people from Memphis, Tennessee, are facing federal charges of mail theft.
According to the indictments, the defendants targeted mail – such as gift cards and greeting cards – since “there was a strong likelihood that they contained U.S. currency.”
Happening now: D. Michael Dunavant, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, will announcing the indictments of 13 former FedEx Employees on violations relating to theft of mail, possession of stolen mail or obstruction of mail. pic.twitter.com/rrhEhmvRoE
— Siobhan Riley (@SiobhanRileyTV) September 17, 2018
The employees would search through the mail, remove some of the contents, and smuggle items off the premises, authorities said.
The news release identified each of the former employees. They were indicted on charges of “obstruction of correspondence or theft and receipt of stolen mail matter.”
Each person is facing up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine:
- Braylon Butler, 25
- Posely Jones, 25
- Florence Guy, 23
- Shamika Coleman, 39
- Jamal Johnson, 39
- Ronald Carter Jr., 32
- Katrina Dunlap, 27
- Yukelia Brown, 31
- Tekesha Henderson, 26
- Craig Johnson, 26
- Yolanda Barbee, 22
- Jerome Pope, 26
- Cortez Spencer, 28
FedEx issued a statement regarding the indictments and mail theft charges facing the former employees:
"FedEx Express does not tolerate the use of its network for illegal activity," the company said. "We fully cooperated with authorities in this investigation, and the individuals named in the indictments are no longer employed by FedEx."
Officials held a press conference Monday to provide more details about the indictments and the charges against the former employees.
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