Massachusetts postal fraud investigator Scott Kelley allegedly stole more than $330K from elderly scam victims
A former US postal investigator who was in charge of the fraud department has been accused of stealing over $330,000 from packages mailed by victims and using the money for personal expenses such as home renovations, vacations, and escorts, according to the Justice Department.
Scott Kelley, 51, from Massachusetts, was indicted on 45 counts including wire fraud, mail fraud, mail theft by a postal officer, theft of government money, money laundering, structuring to evade reporting requirements, and filing false tax returns.
Kelley allegedly stole cash from packages and then laundered the money to fund various luxuries, including paying for sexual services from escorts, home renovations, and a Caribbean cruise. He worked as the team leader for the Mail Fraud Unit of the US Postal Inspection Service from 2015 until June 2022 and later as the team leader of the Mail Theft Unit until August 2023.
The scheme involved Kelley sending deceptive emails to postal employees instructing them to intercept packages sent by victims of a Jamaican scam targeting Americans. The scammers convinced victims to send money to claim fake lottery or sweepstakes winnings.
Postal workers were instructed to send these intercepted packages to Kelley, who then allegedly stole the cash inside. It is estimated that Kelley requested 1,950 packages to be sent to him, resulting in the theft of the cash contained in them.
The indictment identifies seven victims, with an average age of 75, who were defrauded by Kelley. The victims sent varying amounts of money to the scammers, ranging from $1,400 to $19,100 each.
In one instance, Kelley met with a victim and falsely claimed that a package was not found, shifting the blame onto the victim for mailing cash. None of the victims were able to recover their packages or the stolen cash.
Additionally, Kelley is accused of stealing $7,000 from an evidence locker using another postal inspector’s key and blaming the employee for the theft. He laundered the stolen money by purchasing postal money orders and making multiple bank deposits across different accounts to conceal the source of the funds.
If convicted, Kelley faces up to 20 years in prison for each wire fraud, money laundering, and mail fraud charge, five years for each mail theft and structuring to evade reporting requirements charge, 10 years for theft of government money, and three years for each filing false tax return charge.
