BOSTON — A former U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employee from Lynn was sentenced in federal court Thursday for stealing mail, including almost $5,000 in stimulus payments, and making more than $16,000 in fraudulent purchases and ATM withdrawals.
Angela Gomez, 40, was sentenced to three months in prison and three years of supervised release. She will also pay $21,387 in restitution to the victims. Gomez pleaded guilty in May to one count of theft of mail by an employee, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
Investigators received information in February 2020 that Lynn residents reported missing mail. One customer reported that an expected Lilly Pulitzer gift card never arrived in the mail. The investigation revealed that Gomez, who handled that resident’s route, had used the gift card in January for purchases delivered to her then-home address. Surveillance of Gomez revealed that she rifled through and stole mail on 21 separate occasions while working, prosecutors said.
In addition, a fraud investigator at Eastern Bank who was investigating multiple unauthorized ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases made using three separate accounts at the bank contacted federal investigators. The accounts were owned by individuals who lived on Gomez’ route. Security footage related to several of the unauthorized purchases, including at Walmart and Target stores, showed Gomez making purchases using the compromised debit cards. ATM and bank security footage from Eastern Bank also showed her making cash withdrawals from the accounts. A total of $16,587 was stolen from the three accounts, prosecutors said.
Gomez also stole four stimulus checks totaling $4,800 from customers on her carrier route.
