PHILADELPHIA, PA — Four defendants pleaded guilty this week to federal charges tied to a scheme involving the theft and resale of U.S. Treasury checks valued at more than $84 million, according to United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Saahir Irby, 28, and Tauheed Tucker, 24, both of Philadelphia; Cory Scott, 26, of Ardmore; and Alexander Telewoda, 26, of Clifton Heights, entered guilty pleas before U.S. District Judge Joshua D. Wolson on charges including conspiracy to steal government funds, theft of government funds and mail theft.
Federal prosecutors said Irby and Tucker worked as mail processing clerks at the U.S. Postal Service Philadelphia Processing and Distribution Center between June 2023 and September 2024, where they allegedly stole thousands of envelopes containing Treasury checks from mail sorting machines.
According to court filings, the two men sold the stolen checks to Scott and Telewoda, who advertised them for resale through the messaging platform Telegram. Prosecutors said the checks were then mailed to buyers across the country who attempted to cash them.
Authorities said the stolen checks had a combined face value exceeding $84 million, with approximately $11 million successfully negotiated at financial institutions.
Irby had previously pleaded guilty in a separate mail theft case involving another group of Treasury checks stolen in August 2024.
Irby faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, while Tucker, Scott and Telewoda each face up to 20 years.
Irby, Tucker and Telewoda are scheduled for sentencing in August, while Scott is scheduled to be sentenced in September.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, United States Postal Inspection Service, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the Montgomery County Detective Bureau, Lower Merion Township Police Department and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.
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