An example of corruption in the U.S. Postal Service.
A former USPS postmaster has pleaded guilty to stealing tens of thousands of dollars in government funds, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas said Tuesday.
According to court documents, Joyce L. Smith, 51, of Wichita previously was the postmaster in Scott City, Kan., which is about 120 miles south of North Platte.
Between January 2023 and February 2025, Smith embezzled about $57,400 from the USPS, the Kansas U.S. Attorney said.
According to an audit, Smith stole about $10,600 in cash payments from customers. She issued herself about $3,700 in money orders, and embezzled about $3,400 that customers had paid for post office boxes.
When some customers made regular check payments for permits or mass mailings, Smith accepted the checks and provided the services to customers, but did not log the receipts into USPS records.
The USPS cannot account for checks for a total of $16,788 issued by Scott City, nor $5,850 in checks issued by the Scott County Landfill, nor $17,108 in checks issued by a local newspaper.
“As postmaster, Joyce Smith likely thought her position would allow her to continue to fill her pockets with money that didn’t belong her without getting caught or facing any consequences,” U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser said. “Her behavior reminds us of why audits and other forms of government oversight of financial records are necessarily.”
“This guilty plea represents the hard work and dedication by USPS OIG Special Agents working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring charges on this financial fraud investigation,” said Special Agent in Charge Dennus Bishop of the USPS Office of Inspector General, Central Area Field Office. “The OIG, along with our law enforcement partners, remain committed to safeguarding the U.S. Mail and ensuring the accountability and integrity of U.S. Postal Service employees.”
The U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General (USPS- OIG) is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Smith is prosecuting the case.
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Republicans want you to believe though that it’s single mother on welfare or immigrants (who can’t actually qualify for aid like food stamps and Medicaid) that is a drain or defrauding the system. Yet 99% of the time you hear stories about a single person IN A GOVERNMENTAL POSITION OF POWER that is *actually* defrauding the system. I mean who better to defraud the system than someone who knows how the system works and where the blind spots are?