EAST ST. LOUIS – A southern Illinois district judge sentenced a postal carrier to 32 months in federal prison after she admitted to stealing credit cards from the mail and abusing them for personal expenses. While employed as the city carrier assistant at the Granite City Post Office, Lakeatra E. White, 32, stole several mail items on her route, such as gift cards, credit cards, and credit card information.
Court documents state she stole credit cards belonging to two victims, and she tried to rack up personal charges estimated at nearly $27,000. During the investigation, White turned over 115 pieces of mail she had stolen to law enforcement.
She pleaded guilty in September 2024 to one count of theft of mail by a postal employee, one count of access device fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. In addition to her imprisonment, White will serve three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $15,209 in restitution.
“Mail carriers are entrusted public servants, and postal workers who steal from their customers choose to break that trust,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to partner with the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General to hold employees committing fraud accountable.”