Federal prosecutors have unsealed an indictment charging four people in a years-long scheme to bribe postal carriers in exchange for checks they were supposed to deliver.
Xaviana Watts, King Divine, and Javone Hariston, and face various charges including conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bribery of public officials. Dante Hawkins faces conspiracy and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Prosecutors allege the crimes began in 2022 and continued until January 2025.
The indictment outlines 10 dates on which a postal carrier was paid hundreds of dollars — ranging from $100 to $1,500 — in exchange for checks that were meant to be delivered.
According to the indictment, Watts allegedly bought specialized ink cartridges and printers, and the suspects would allegedly change the names on the checks, print them out, and deposit them into bank accounts.
Frank Albergo, president of the Postal Police Officers Association, has been fighting for years to get postal police more rights. He said mail theft is a gateway to large-scale financial crime.
"Mail theft is a street-level crime. It's essentially a petty crime that leads to financial fraud in the millions."
Albergo said another issue is criminals bribing postal carriers for their arrow keys — master keys used to access mail collection boxes and delivery points.
"Unfortunately, they're colluding with employees as well. It's usually non-career employees, ‘hey, give me the arrow key, I'll give you 300 bucks, and I'll give it to you back at the end of your shift. I'll make a copy of it’. I mean, that's, that kind of thing is happening."
Albergo said the problem extends well beyond individual incidents in Hampton Roads and across the country.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service issued a statement on the case.
"This case is a tremendous example of U.S. Postal Inspection Service's dedication to the mission of ensuring the safety and security of U.S. Mail and its customers, and an amazing joint investigation conducted with the USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG). Our mission ensures that the U.S. Mail remains one of the most secure means of transmitting personal information. The Inspection Service and USPS OIG identified and charged these four external players for their involvement in this conspiracy, and along with the partners in the US Attorney's Office, we will hold these criminals accountable for their actions."
Watt’s defense attorney Richard Doummar said he has not comment on behalf of his client at this time.
