Former USPS Employee Admits Stealing Nearly $40,000 in Postal Money Orders

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that KEITH SANFORD, 33, of Litchfield, pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez to one count of theft of government property stemming from his embezzlement of nearly $40,000 in postal money orders while working for the U.S. Postal Service.

Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the court proceeding occurred via videoconference.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between July 2017 and December 2018, Sanford was employed by the U.S. Postal Service and worked on a rotating basis at the Granby, West Granby and East Hartland Post Offices.  Between April and December 2018, Sanford issued 139 postal money orders totaling $39,937.02 to himself and, in certain instances, his associates, without remitting payment for them.  Sanford received all of the proceeds from this scheme.

Sanford is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant on September 9, 2020, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.  He is released on a $25,000 bond pending sentencing.

This matter has been investigated by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria del Pilar Gonzalez.