“Check Theft Scheme: Former Lakewood Mail Carrier Faces Criminal Charges”
The U.S. Postal Service has announced that a former letter carrier from its Lakewood post office is facing serious charges for violating the public trust. According to a federal indictment, Gregory D. Drake is accused of stealing mail that contained checks for substantial amounts of money and selling these checks to a group of co-conspirators he had recruited.
The indictment claims that Drake’s accomplices, identified as Darrell P. Smith, Jovaun P. Woodfolk, Deandre L. Couts, and Dachi I. Wheat, would forge or alter signatures to cash the stolen checks or counterfeit versions of them. They would then share a portion of the illegal proceeds with Drake through cash apps.
Tim Dimoff, a security and fraud expert with over 20 years of law enforcement experience, stated that Drake’s scheme relied heavily on his recruits to carry out the illegal activities. “He thought, ‘All I have to do is hand the checks off to somebody, they get their piece of the action, and how is it ever going to come back to me?’” Dimoff explained. Since Drake was not physically processing the checks, he believed he could avoid detection while profiting from the operation.
Drake, who has been with the USPS since 2015, likely had a sharp eye for identifying mail containing checks, which made him well-suited for the thefts. The indictment reveals that he and his accomplices had developed their own coded language on social media, referring to instant cash as “instant cheese,” new checks as “fresh food,” and all types of checks as “all flavors.”
According to Dimoff, the accumulation of stolen checks amounted to thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, prompting significant interest from both local and federal authorities. In 2022, Lakewood police began receiving complaints from businesses about checks they had issued that went missing, only to later discover that they had been cashed by individuals using forged signatures.
Postal inspectors ultimately identified Drake as the key player in the theft ring. He was caught in the act while attempting to steal two checks totaling more than $20,000. “You narrow down which mailbox and area these checks are missing from, then investigate those areas with surveillance and electronic monitoring,” Dimoff explained, detailing how authorities were able to pinpoint the suspect.
The U.S. Postal Service released a statement regarding Drake’s indictment, emphasizing, “This type of behavior within the Postal Service is not tolerated and is a rare occurrence. It is important for the public we serve to know that the overwhelming majority of Postal Service employees are honest, hardworking, and trustworthy individuals who would never consider engaging in any type of criminal behavior.”
Dimoff noted that while the scheme may have seemed profitable initially, Drake’s access to checks and his involvement in the thefts ultimately led to his downfall, compounded by the electronic trails he and his accomplices left behind. “They become greedy, and it gets out of hand, making it easier to investigate,” he said.
Drake resigned from his position in March 2024 amid the ongoing investigation.
