Postal worker stole nearly $400,000 in tax refund checks from mail in Florida, feds say

A postal worker stole nearly $400,000 in tax refund checks that were being sent by mail to Florida residents, according to the Department of Justice.

Kevin Mark Streeter, Jr., 38, of Tampa, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in federal prison, according to an Oct. 24 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida.

Streeter, who was working at a U.S Postal Service mail processing center in Sarasota, about 130 miles southwest of Orlando, “exploited his position by stealing approximately 40 federal tax refund checks,” that were being sent to residents of Florida’s Middle District, which encompasses 35 counties, according to the release.

The checks ranged in amounts from around $4,000 to over $100,000, the release says. The total amount that he stole was over $398,000, the Department of Justice said.

Streeter’s attorney and the U.S. Postal Service could not be immediately reached for comment on Oct. 24.

Streeter took most of the checks around March 2017 and sold them to co-conspirators, according to an indictment.

Streeter pleaded guilty in June 2022 to counts of conspiracy, receipt of stolen government property and aggravated identity theft, according to the release.

The Internal Revenue Service issued nearly 600.1 million refunds valuing more than $1.1 trillion in Fiscal Year 2021, according to the agency.

This story was originally published October 24, 2022 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Postal worker stole nearly $400,000 in tax refund checks from mail in Florida, feds say."