A former U.S. Postal Service worker pled guilty to stealing thousands of pieces of mail in the Indianapolis area.
The theft was part of a $34 million conspiracy to commit bank fraud by stealing and depositing checks from Indianapolis area residents.
The former postal worker, 29-year-old Destinee Ruffin, sold stolen checks to co-conspirators between November of 2020 and May of 2022. Those co-conspirators then deposited the checks, in some cases creating counterfeit checks using the real ones and selling the counterfeit checks online.
Federal investigators discovered the scheme after mailing Treasury checks with recorded serial numbers, then tracing them back to Ruffin's Indianapolis route.
Agents eventually placed a video camera in Ruffin's car where they witnessed her taking, but not delivering, several pieces of mail believed to be Treasury checks.
In April 2024, after receiving a warrant, federal agents said they found over 6,000 pieces of stolen mail, totaling roughly $20 million in unsold checks, at Ruffin's Indianapolis home.
Ruffin is believed to have sold roughly $12 million worth of checks to her co-conspirator, John Young.
Sentencing for Ruffin is scheduled later this month. Three of her four co-conspirators were already sentenced. Young has yet to be sentenced in the case. All co-conspirators are from Indianapolis except for Illinois-based Tony McMullen.
Federal officials say it is impractical to reach out to victims directly due to the scope of the fraud.
Residents in the affected area are encouraged to reach out to case officials directly. Residents who live near E. 55th Street in Indianapolis and believe they had mail stolen are encouraged to call Victim Witness Coordinator Stephanie Lloyd at 317-229-2406.
Contact Government Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org
