PHILADELPHIA, PA — A Delaware County man was sentenced this past week to 6½ years in federal prison after pleading guilty in a scheme that trafficked thousands of stolen U.S. Treasury checks, with authorities ultimately linking him to checks carrying a combined face value of more than $121 million.
U.S. District Judge Joshua D. Wolson sentenced Alexander Telewoda, 26, of Clifton Heights, to 78 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Telewoda was also ordered to pay $10.84 million in restitution and forfeit $162,144.50, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Telewoda pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to steal government funds, theft of government funds and mail theft. Three co-defendants — Saahir Irby, 28, and Tauheed Tucker, 24, both of Philadelphia, and Cory Scott, 26, of Ardmore — entered guilty pleas to the same charges.
According to court filings, the conspiracy operated from June 2023 through September 2024 and initially relied on Irby and Tucker, who worked as U.S. Postal Service mail processing clerks at the Philadelphia Processing and Distribution Center.
Prosecutors stated that Irby and Tucker stole thousands of envelopes containing Treasury checks from mail-sorting equipment and sold the checks to Telewoda and Scott.
Telewoda and Scott then advertised the checks for resale through Telegram and mailed them to buyers around the country after receiving payment, according to federal prosecutors.
The Treasury checks supplied by Irby and Tucker had a combined face value exceeding $84 million. Prosecutors stated that customers of Telewoda and Scott successfully negotiated approximately $11 million worth of the stolen checks at financial institutions.
Telewoda continued acquiring and selling Treasury checks after Irby and Tucker were fired from the Postal Service, prosecutors stated, obtaining checks through another source.
By the time of Telewoda’s arrest in June 2025, investigators had linked him to stolen Treasury checks with a combined face value of more than $121 million. More than $3 million in stolen checks were recovered from his home at the time of his arrest, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Irby, Tucker and Scott are scheduled for sentencing in October.
Irby faces a statutory maximum of 25 years in prison, while Tucker and Scott each face maximum terms of 20 years. Their sentences will be determined by the court under federal sentencing law.
The investigation involved the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, FBI and Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General.
The Montgomery County Detective Bureau, Lower Merion Township Police Department and Bureau of the Fiscal Service also assisted. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Rice is prosecuting the case.
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