NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A former postal employee is on the run after being charged with fraud, identity theft and mail theft offenses, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Kierra Blount, 34, of Stamford, faces a 10-count indictment that was returned on March 26 and opened in New Haven on Wednesday, prosecutors said. Blount is currently being sought by law enforcement.
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The indictment alleges that Blount stole mail and acquired stolen mail for the purpose of obtaining checks that were payable to other individuals; prosecutors said she did this at times while employed by the U.S. Postal Service in Stamford.
According to prosecutors, around November 2021, Blount opened a bank account using the name and Social Security number of a victim without their knowledge.
Blount and others fraudulently changed the payee names on stolen checks to the name of the identity theft victim, forged the victim’s signature on the back of the checks and deposited them into a bank account Blount opened, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors allege that from November 2021 to April 2022, when the account was closed, Blount and others deposited tens of thousands of dollars in fraudulent checks into the account and used the funds for their own purposes.
In the indictment, Blount is charged with eight counts of bank fraud, which carries a maximum prison term of 30 years on each count. She is also charged with one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a maximum prison term of two years, and one count of unlawful possession of stolen mail, for which she could go to jail for a maximum of five years.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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