ST. LOUIS – A former U.S. Postal Service mail carrier and three of her co-conspirators have been handed prison sentences for a brazen conspiracy that involved stealing checks from the mail to perpetrate bank fraud.
Wynter Hinton, 29, of St. Ann, was sentenced to 12 months in prison after pleading guilty to unlawful use of a mail key. Her accomplices, Johnathan Barnett, 30, of University City, Ryan McKinney, 25, of St. Louis, and Jayden Burklow, 21, of O’Fallon, Illinois, faced stiffer sentences ranging from 28 months to 80 months for their roles in the scheme.
The group’s operation lasted from January 2022 to September 2023. Hinton, while on her postal route, pilfered checks from collection boxes, while Barnett purchased a key to U.S. Postal Service collection boxes from Hinton. Barnett and McKinney then altered these stolen checks and used others’ bank accounts to deposit the fraudulent funds, siphoning off tens of thousands of dollars before the banks caught on.
Barnett, who had already been a convicted felon, was apprehended during a court-authorized search of his home, where he was found with an AR-15-style rifle and other firearms. He also possessed check-making equipment at the time of his arrest.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, working alongside federal law enforcement partners, led the investigation into this significant mail theft case. Inspector in Charge Ruth Mendonça emphasized the agency’s commitment to protecting the nation’s mail system from such illegal activities.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll prosecuted the case, which resulted in restitution orders totaling $44,135.
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Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Sex Crimes|Cybercrime|Public Corruption|Weapons|Human Trafficking|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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