Former LA Postal Worker Sentenced 66 Months for $10M Mail Theft

Rashad Deon Stolden, a former U.S. Postal Service letter carrier from Huntington Beach, was sentenced to five and a half years in federal prison for orchestrating a scheme that stole more than $10 million in checks and debit cards from the mail over four years. Stolden, who worked at the Bicentennial Post Office in Los Angeles' Fairfax District, conspired with fellow carrier Charlie Green and other co-conspirators to sell stolen checks and debit cards, using forged identity documents and purchased personal information to cash them. In one notable instance, Stolden stole a $7.3 million Treasury check in 2022 and sold it to an accomplice who successfully negotiated over $1 million at a Tennessee bank. Prosecutors highlighted Stolden's callousness, noting he showed no empathy for victims who lost unemployment and disability benefits, and instead used the stolen funds for luxury vacations, debating between a $13,000 hotel stay in Bora Bora or a $20,000 stay in a Presidential Villa. Stolden pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and was ordered to pay $1.6 million in restitution. His co-conspirator Green is scheduled for sentencing on September 14, and several other accomplices have been prosecuted separately.