Former postal worker repeatedly stole mail, caused $242,000 in losses in NY, feds say
A man pleaded guilty to repeatedly stealing business checks from the same U.S. Postal Service mail sorting facility, according to federal prosecutors — after an investigation revealed he once worked for the USPS.
Sean A. Walter caused at least $242,159.76 in losses in connection with taking mail on six separate occasions from a USPS processing center in Albany, New York, in 2023 and 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York said in a Feb. 24 news release.
Walter, 30, of Humble, Texas, pleaded guilty to six counts of theft of mail matter on Feb. 24, court records show.
Walter’s defense attorney, James E. Tyner, didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment Feb. 25.
Walter visited the USPS center in Albany to steal mail on Nov. 29, 2023; Dec. 31, 2023; Jan. 9, 2024; Jan. 23, 2024; Jan. 31, 2024; and May 14, 2024, according to his plea agreement.
He specifically targeted mail that he thought contained business checks, according to prosecutors.
During his fourth visit, he entered by “forcefully pulling up a retractable overhead door to the facility” around 12:56 a.m., prosecutors said.
Then he walked into a room where other employees were working and stuffed several pieces of mail into his backpack and left, more than an hour later, at about 2:31 a.m., according to prosecutors.
Walter returned “two more times that night” to take more mail, prosecutors said.
His next visit was Jan. 31, 2024, when Walter found his way through the back of the facility by accessing an unlocked door, according to prosecutors.
He stole more mail until managers escorted him outside after realizing he wasn’t an employee, prosecutors wrote in Walter’s plea agreement.
Later that day, managers reported a “suspicious man” to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, according to an affidavit.
Walter was accused of identifying himself as a postal worker who actually worked there while he was inside the facility, the affidavit says. But the real employee already completed their shift.
A special agent with the USPS Office of Inspector General ultimately learned Walter was hired as a seasonal postal employee for the holidays at a mail processing facility in Houston, Texas, in December 2021, according to the affidavit. Humble, where Walter is from, is about a 20-mile drive northeast from Houston.
The special agent discovered that Walter, who tried unsuccessfully to get re-hired by the Houston post office, was a suspect in a USPS investigation in Houston, the affidavit says.
As part of his plea agreement, Walter acknowledged that he also stole business checks from the USPS North Houston mail facility, twice, in 2022, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Arrest made
On May 14, 2024, his final visit to the Albany facility led to his arrest, prosecutors said.
When the center’s security guards confronted Walter at the mail center, he fled to a local motel and was apprehended, according to prosecutors.
Walter sold the business checks he stole in New York to other people, according to prosecutors. The checks were meant for a volunteer fire department, a town government, a bank, and a variety of small businesses, prosecutors said.
Walter knew that the checks he sold “would then be altered and forged,” according to prosecutors.
Now, Walter is facing up to five years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine and could owe restitution to the businesses he defrauded, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on June 30.
Suspected mail theft can be reported to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service online or by calling 1-877-876-2455.
This story was originally published February 25, 2025 at 2:20 PM with the headline "Former postal worker repeatedly stole mail, caused $242,000 in losses in NY, feds say."
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