Postal Employee Embezzlement – 18 U.S.C. § 1711 Sentencing Guidelines

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group, a second-generation firm managed by Todd Spodek with over 40 years of combined experience. Section 1711 targets embezzlement by postal employees—mail carriers, clerks, postmasters, and anyone employed by USPS who steals mail or packages they’re supposed to deliver. Maximum sentence: 5 years imprisonment. The statute reflects heightened culpability when postal workers betray the trust inherent in their positions, using access granted through employment to steal from the public they serve.

The Postal Service employs over 600,000 workers nationwide. Most are honest, dedicated public servants. But the few who steal create massive problems because they have systematic access to mail in ways ordinary thieves don’t. A mail carrier who decides to steal can target every house on their route. A postal clerk processing packages can identify high-value shipments. That insider access makes postal employee theft more dangerous than random mail theft by outsiders.

How Postal Employees Get Caught

USPS uses extensive surveillance and tracking systems to detect theft. GPS tracking on mail trucks shows where carriers deviate from routes. Package scanning at multiple checkpoints reveals when items disappear between facilities. Customer complaints trigger investigations using bait packages containing tracking devices. The Postal Service investigates employee theft aggressively because protecting mail integrity is central to their mission.

Once suspected, employees face covert investigation before being confronted. Postal Inspectors place tracking devices in packages given to suspected employees, use undercover operatives to conduct test buys of stolen goods, and conduct surveillance following workers after their shifts end. By the time employees are questioned, investigators have substantial evidence from weeks or months of monitoring.

That investigative approach creates pressure for confessions. When confronted with surveillance footage showing them taking packages or GPS data proving route deviations, employees usually confess immediately. Those confessions become evidence prosecutors use at trial if defendants later recant, making it difficult to challenge guilt after confessing during initial confrontation.

The Plea Trap

Postal employees charged under Section 1711 face immediate termination and criminal prosecution. They lose jobs providing middle-class income and federal benefits. Most have families depending on that income. Prosecutors offer plea bargains: plead guilty to one count, receive probation or minimal jail time, pay restitution. Go to trial, risk conviction on multiple counts and face federal prison.

The economic pressure is immense. Employees without income can’t afford private attorneys. Appointed counsel, however competent, lacks resources for expert witnesses or extensive investigation. The plea offer looks reasonable compared to trial risk. But accepting guilt for federal felony means permanent unemployability in positions requiring trust, loss of pension benefits, and federal conviction following them for life.

Some postal employees who pled guilty actually had defenses—they mistakenly delivered packages to wrong addresses rather than stealing them, they took damaged packages planning to deliver them later but forgot, they removed packages from trucks to prevent theft by others. Under investigation pressure and without effective counsel, they confessed to theft that wasn’t intentional. Years later they regret not fighting charges.

Sentencing: Position of Trust Enhancement

Guidelines Section 2B1.1 calculates offense levels from loss amounts. Theft under $6,500 yields level 6. Between $15,000 and $40,000 reaches level 8. Over $150,000 hits level 12.

Position of trust enhancement adds 2 levels because postal employees held positions giving them access to mail. That enhancement applies universally in Section 1711 cases—you can’t embezzle as postal employee without having had the access that employment provided. So every Section 1711 defendant automatically gets 2 additional levels.

A mail carrier who stole packages worth $25,000 starts at offense level 8. Add 2 for position of trust, reaching level 10. That’s 6-12 months at Category I. With acceptance of responsibility bringing it down to level 7, they might receive probation or 4-10 months if they have no criminal history.

But that’s sentencing. The greater punishment is losing the job. Postal workers earn $40,000-$60,000 annually with federal health insurance and pensions. After conviction, they’re unemployable in any position requiring background checks or bonding. They end up in minimum-wage work without benefits, effectively impoverished for life. The months in prison aren’t the real punishment—lifetime economic marginalization is.

When Small Thefts Destroy Careers

A postal clerk stole three packages over two weeks, total value $180. Customer complaints triggered investigation. The clerk was terminated, prosecuted under Section 1711, received probation after pleading guilty. Was federal prosecution necessary for $180 theft?

The Postal Service argues yes—any theft by employees must be punished severely to deter others and maintain public trust. But the clerk lost a $45,000 annual job with pension and health insurance. They’ll never work for any government agency or private company requiring security clearance. Federal conviction ensures unemployment or underemployment for decades. The lifetime economic destruction far exceeds the $180 stolen.

Administrative resolution through termination and restitution achieves the same deterrence without criminal conviction. The employee loses their job and pays restitution—strong deterrence. But they don’t acquire federal felony record preventing all future employment. That path serves justice without permanently destroying lives over minor misconduct.

Prosecutors reflexively charge every postal employee theft federally because they can. But discretion should mean choosing not to prosecute when circumstances suggest administrative resolution is proportionate and criminal prosecution is overkill.

The Package Contents Problem

Postal employees often steal packages without knowing contents. They see boxes, take them, discover later the contents are worthless or unsellable. Do they owe restitution for retail value of items they discarded?

Courts say yes—restitution is victim’s loss, not defendant’s gain. If a postal worker stole a package containing $800 shoes but threw them away because they didn’t fit, restitution is $800. The victim paid that amount and lost the shoes; defendant’s failure to profit from theft doesn’t reduce victim’s loss.

This creates harsh outcomes when employees stole multiple packages hoping for valuables but found mostly ordinary household items they discarded. They might have kept $500 worth of goods but owe $5,000 restitution because they stole 10 packages with total retail value of $5,000. Prosecutors calculate loss from all stolen items regardless of whether defendants kept, sold, or discarded them.

Defense argues loss should be items actually converted to defendant’s use, not everything stolen. But that argument rarely succeeds. Theft is theft; actual conversion isn’t required for restitution when defendants stole items and prevented rightful owners from receiving them.

When Employees Take Damaged Mail

Packages get damaged during transit—crushed boxes, torn envelopes, items falling from damaged packaging. Postal policy requires employees report damaged mail so it can be returned to senders or delivered with damage noted. But employees sometimes take damaged items, reasoning they’re going to be discarded anyway.

That’s still theft under Section 1711. The damaged mail belongs to addressees or senders, not postal employees. Taking it without authorization constitutes embezzlement regardless of whether employees thought items would be destroyed.

These cases generate sympathy at sentencing. Employees took items they believed were unwanted trash. They made terrible judgment calls but didn’t steal items they knew would be delivered. Courts sometimes vary downward from guidelines, imposing probation when defendants demonstrate the taking resulted from poor judgment rather than criminal intent to deprive rightful owners.

But even sympathetic cases result in termination and conviction. The Postal Service doesn’t distinguish between taking valuables and taking damaged goods. Any unauthorized taking triggers termination and prosecution. That zero-tolerance approach doesn’t allow for context or judgment—rules are rules, violation means termination and prosecution.

The Collateral Consequences

Federal conviction eliminates employment options. Postal workers after conviction can’t work for federal, state, or local government. Private employers conducting background checks reject applicants with theft convictions. Jobs involving money handling, security, or trust require bonding that convicted felons can’t obtain.

That leaves minimum-wage positions without background checks—fast food, manual labor, cash-economy jobs. Former postal workers earning $50,000 end up making $20,000 if they’re lucky. Their families lose homes, can’t afford healthcare, and struggle with poverty for years or decades.

Pension forfeiture adds to devastation. Postal workers who served 15-20 years before conviction lose pension eligibility. The retirement security they worked decades to build disappears. They retire into poverty with only Social Security, if they’re old enough to collect it.

These collateral consequences often exceed criminal sentences. Someone who serves 6 months can rebuild life afterward if they retain employment options. Someone who serves 6 months but loses career, pension, and employability can’t rebuild. Federal conviction follows them permanently, ensuring poverty regardless of rehabilitation efforts.

Defending Postal Employee Cases

Challenge intent when employees claim they didn’t intend to steal. Maybe they delivered packages to wrong addresses accidentally. Maybe they took damaged items believing they should be discarded. Maybe they removed packages from vehicles to prevent theft but forgot to redeliver them. These aren’t great defenses but they create reasonable doubt about criminal intent if supported by evidence.

Negotiate for administrative resolution before criminal charges. Once prosecutors file charges, negotiating becomes difficult. But during investigation phase, arguing that termination and restitution provide adequate punishment without criminal prosecution sometimes convinces prosecutors to decline charges. Not frequently, but sometimes.

Focus on mitigation showing employees as human beings who made mistakes. Employees with decades of unblemished service who stole during personal crises—medical emergencies, family deaths, financial catastrophes—deserve consideration different from career criminals. Courts won’t excuse theft but they’ll consider circumstances when exercising sentencing discretion.

Present evidence about loss of job, pension, and career. Judges sentencing postal employees see the employee’s entire life collapse—job gone, pension forfeited, unemployability ensured. That punishment often feels sufficient without adding significant prison time. Probation or short sentences recognize that federal conviction already destroyed the employee’s life in ways that prison time won’t enhance.

If you’re a postal employee facing theft allegations or Section 1711 charges, contact Spodek Law Group immediately. These cases move rapidly—Postal Inspectors confront employees with evidence and seek confessions before employees consult attorneys. Statements made during those confrontations become evidence used against you. We represent postal workers charged with mail theft, embezzlement, and related offenses. Early representation allows us to potentially prevent criminal charges by negotiating administrative resolution, challenge confessions obtained before you had counsel, and present your circumstances to prosecutors and courts in ways that recognize you as a person who made a mistake rather than a career criminal. We’re available 24/7.