Former St. Louis postal worker admits depositing checks stolen from mail

Porcia Denise Rhodes, 27, of St. Louis, Missouri has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of bank fraud and one count of theft of mail by an employee of the U.S. Postal Service.

Rhodes, who was a mail processing clerk at the time, admitted stealing about 21 checks. Rhodes then scratched out the payee’s name and wrote in her own before depositing the checks into her personal bank account. The checks were valued at $5,035. In one example listed in Rhodes’ plea agreement, she intercepted a birthday card containing a $500 check that a Troy, Illinois woman was trying to mail to her grandson in Florida.

Rhodes is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 12, 2024, by U.S. District Court Sarah E. Pitlyk. The bank fraud charge is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine or both. The theft charge is punishable by up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Lane is prosecuting the case.