[From article]
Three part-time workers at the huge James A. Farley Post Office in Midtown allegedly rigged the famous “Operation Santa” charity program so they could steal iPads, laptops, and even toy trains and clothes meant for needy tots.
The naughty mail handlers pulled off the pre-Christmas scam by writing their own “Dear Santa” letters, posing as kids in need and including their own addresses, so hapless donors would send the goodies their way, federal authorities charged in court Wednesday.
“Every gift that was fraudulently obtained by a participant in the scheme effectively deprived an underprivileged child of a gift,” the criminal complaint notes.
The three guaranteed they’d get a big haul by submitting as many as 20 copies of each humbug letter, “to increase the odds that the letter would be selected by a Secret Santa,” the complaint says.
But sometimes they’d just keep it simple, and merely switch their own mailing addresses for the needy kids’ address on already-donated gifts.
They pulled the fraud during the past two Christmases and all three “bad Santas” have admitted their roles, the feds say. They’re charged with conspiracy and mail fraud. They were arrested Wednesday and are due back before a judge July 17.
“That’s low!” said one fellow postal employee. “That’s gifts for kids on Christmas! How low can you get?”
Mahogany Strickland, 23, who ironically lives on St. Nicholas Ave. in Manhattan, was the public face of the scam, the feds say.
http://nypost.com/2015/06/17/postal-workers-charged-in-operation-santa-scam/
Postal workers charged in ‘Operation Santa’ scam
By Josh Saul and David K. Li
June 17, 2015 | 11:09am
The naughty mail handlers pulled off the pre-Christmas scam by writing their own “Dear Santa” letters, posing as kids in need and including their own addresses, so hapless donors would send the goodies their way, federal authorities charged in court Wednesday.
“Every gift that was fraudulently obtained by a participant in the scheme effectively deprived an underprivileged child of a gift,” the criminal complaint notes.
The three guaranteed they’d get a big haul by submitting as many as 20 copies of each humbug letter, “to increase the odds that the letter would be selected by a Secret Santa,” the complaint says.
But sometimes they’d just keep it simple, and merely switch their own mailing addresses for the needy kids’ address on already-donated gifts.
They pulled the fraud during the past two Christmases and all three “bad Santas” have admitted their roles, the feds say. They’re charged with conspiracy and mail fraud. They were arrested Wednesday and are due back before a judge July 17.
“That’s low!” said one fellow postal employee. “That’s gifts for kids on Christmas! How low can you get?”
Mahogany Strickland, 23, who ironically lives on St. Nicholas Ave. in Manhattan, was the public face of the scam, the feds say.
http://nypost.com/2015/06/17/postal-workers-charged-in-operation-santa-scam/
Postal workers charged in ‘Operation Santa’ scam
By Josh Saul and David K. Li
June 17, 2015 | 11:09am
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