CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte-area mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service and her husband pleaded guilty on Friday, Sept. 15 to federal charges for conspiring to commit a large-scale mail theft scheme, according to court documents.
U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced in a statement that 29-year-old Kiara Padgett used her job as a mail carrier to steal checks from businesses and residents along her West Charlotte route.
Padgett and her spouse, Dominique Dunlap, intercepted outgoing and incoming checks in the mail and sold them to other conspirators, court records show.
Others involved in the scheme bought the stolen checks from Dunlap and Padgett and deposited the checks using various ATMs around Charlotte.
Terrell Alexander Hager Jr., who pleaded guilty in March 2023 to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, was allegedly one of the check-cashing conspirators. He tried to sell more than 400 stolen checks online.
The scheme took place between August 2021 to November 2022, when the group prevented about $8 million from making it into Charlotte-area mailboxes.
Dunlap and Padgett appeared in federal court on Friday to plead guilty.
During sentencing, the three named conspirators face a maximum prison term of 30 years and a $1 million fine for the bank fraud conspiracy charge. Dunlap also faces five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each charge of possession of stolen mail.
A sentencing date has not been set as of Sept. 15.