NEWARK, N.J. – A former U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier today admitted that she accepted cash bribes in return for removing envelopes containing credit cards from the mail and providing these stolen credit cards to the individual who gave her the cash bribes, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Kyanne Costley, 24, of Newark, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden in Newark federal court to an information charging her with one count of accepting bribes.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Costley was a mail carrier in Elizabeth, New Jersey. From September 2017 through February 2018, Costley accepted cash bribes from Moussa Dagno, whom she knew by his alias only, for stealing credit cards from the mail and giving the stolen credit cards to Dagno. Dagno was arrested in February 2018 and was charged by complaint with bribery and theft of mail.
While on duty, Costley stole credit cards from the mail that were sent by financial institutions to accountholders and then gave those stolen credit cards to Dagno.
Officers als say Costley met with Dagno on more than one occasion to give him the stolen credit cards and received approximately $100 in cash for each stolen credit card that Dagno found acceptable. Costley received a total of $1,750 in cash payments in exchange for the stolen credit cards.
The bribery charge is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for May 29, 2019.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents with the USPS Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi, Northeast Area Field Office, and inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge James Buthorn, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.