Substitute USPS worker bought new Mustang after stealing $80K worth of checks, OIG says

CALIFORNIA, Maryland — A former substitute mail carrier faces 10 felony charges for allegedly stealing more than $80,000 worth of checks from customers in Maryland.

Federal prosecutors filed criminal charges Monday against Darian Smith who, until March, had worked as a substitute mail carrier out of the U.S. Postal Service’s office in California, Maryland.

According to an affidavit filed in federal district court in Maryland, between December 2023 and March of this year, Smith was working as a rural carrier associate in St. Mary’s County. Investigators were first alerted to a possible problem on his route when a customer reported two business checks were stolen from her mail and fraudulently cashed.

Investigators learned the first check for $1,000 had been sent from a locked mail deposit slot at her office in December. The check did not receive its destination and was instead allegedly deposited into a bank account belonging to “Darian Smith.” The second check was an incoming check for $5,585 that never arrived and was instead also allegedly deposited into the “Darian Smith” bank account.

A day after the possible thefts were reported, an agent from the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General spoke with the postmaster at Smith’s office in California, Maryland. The postmaster said Smith had recently said he’d just placed a $6,000 down payment on a new Ford Mustang.

“[The postmaster] thought this was unusual because SMITH had bought a new Volkswagen Passat the previous year,” the affidavit says.

Smith also reportedly asked would what happen to his direct deposit paycheck if he closed his bank account.

Smith was questioned by an OIG agent and postal inspector on March 13 and allegedly confessed to removing checks from the victim’s mail and depositing them in his own account. According to the affidavit, Smith told the investigators he’d stole and deposited at least five checks totally approximately $15,000 - $20,000.

“SMITH then provided a sworn statement in which he acknowledged he was wrong and stated that he wanted to pay back the money that he stole,” investigators wrote.

A day after the interview, Smith resigned from the USPS.

Investigators then learned a second customer on Smith’s route reported a check had been stolen from their mail and deposited in Smith’s account. In total, investigators learned from bank records that Smith had attempted to deposit 10 checks totaling nearly $85,0000 and was successful in depositing more than $22,0000.

Smith now faces 10 counts of unlawfully opening mail not directed to him. Under federal statute, each count is a felony carrying a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison.

Smith was ordered to make an initial appearance in federal court on Oct. 15 in Greenbelt.