Federal Reports

The Postal Service operates and maintains one of the world’s largest computer networks, linking more than 31,000 retail locations and making communication possible among hundreds of thousands of employees. The Postal Service processes more than 146 billion mailpieces annually and delivers nearly half of the world’s mail. To do this, the Postal Service relies on about 86,000 network devices that support the Information Technology (IT) and mail processing infrastructures. Our objective was to determine if the U.S. Postal Service’s network performance is optimized to support infrastructure demands and ensure system availability.

From the beginning of the Medicare program, beneficiaries' Medicare cards displayed Social Security numbers (SSNs), which increased beneficiaries' vulnerability to identity theft. To meet the requirements of a 2015 Federal law, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) generated new randomized insurance numbers, called Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers (MBIs), to replace SSNs on Medicare cards; assigned the MBIs to beneficiaries; and mailed new Medicare cards. Because deficiencies in assigning MBIs and mailing new Medicare cards could have resulted in unintended consequences, such as claim processing errors and inappropriate release of personally identifiable information, we evaluated CMS's internal controls over implementation of the new MBIs.

Ryan Taylor Minter, of Calumet City, Illinois, pleaded guilty in the Central District of Illinois to charges of wire fraud on December 20, 2019.Our investigation found that Minter participated in a scheme to defraud Amtrak and others by using stolen credit card information from at least 216 different credit or debit cards to purchase Amtrak tickets online valued at over $29,000. Minter used Amtrak’s mobile application and website to purchase the tickets and then advertised them at a discounted price on social media sites frequented by college students. As part of the plea agreement, Minter has agreed to pay restitution if so ordered by the court.Minter was previously indicted on 5 counts of wire fraud and was arrested on July 1, 2019. Minter will be sentenced at a future date.