Kearny Mail Center Employee Stole Checks, Credit Cards, Feds Say

Secaucus NJ

27 August, 2021

11:19 AM

Description

KEARNY, NJ — Federal prosecutors say that, starting in January 2020, a postal worker at the Kearny mail processing facility stole credit cards, checks and U.S. Treasury checks from the mail she handled. The employee is Khadijah Banks Oneal, a female postal worker who was arrested July 28. For several years now, Secaucus residents reported checks they've mailed have been stolen. The U.S. Post Office even installed special security features on mailboxes throughout town to prevent mail theft. Secaucus' mail is also processed and distributed through the Kearny mail facility, a regional hub. The charges were just announced this week by acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig. Federal prosecutors say Oneal was part of an elaborate North Jersey identity theft scheme that has gone on for nearly two years, where she would then sell the stolen credit cards to men in Woodbridge and East Orange. Prosecutors say she stole the mail from Jan. 30, 2020 until she was arrested on July 28. She sold the stolen mail to men named Yaseen Salih, Adeeb Salih, Jahad Salter, Dashaun Brown and Hakir Brown. A postal worker in Manhattan, Ashley Taylor, was also part of the scheme, stealing envelopes from the mail there and also selling them to the North Jersey men, said federal prosecutors. She is accused of doing this from Dec. 12, 2020 through July 31 of this year. U.S. Attorneys say that Yaseen Salih, Adeeb Salih, Hakir Brown, Salter and Oneal herself all fraudulently posed as the account holders of the stolen credit cards, calling the banks that issued the cards, and used personal identifying information belonging to the account holder to obtain or change information about the stolen credit cards. They then used the stolen credit cards to, among other things, make purchases at retail stores in New Jersey and elsewhere, including New York and online, resulting in attempted losses of over $300,000. Adeeb Salih also deposited the stolen checks into his own bank accounts, said prosecutors. All the others have been taken into federal custody, but he remains at large and is considered a fugitive from justice. The following were charged in late July and early August of this year in connection with this scheme: Hakir Brown, 27, of Newark was arrested Thursday and charged with bank fraud, conspiracy to commit mail theft and to possess stolen mail and aggravated identity theft.Banks Oneal, 30, of Newark, was charged July 28 with conspiracy to commit access device fraud and mail theft. She was arrested the same day, and on July 29 appeared before Judge Espinosa, and was released on a $30,000 bond. At the time of her arrest, Banks Oneal was employed by the U.S. Postal Service at a mail processing facility in Kearny.Yaseen Salih was arrested Thursday and charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit mail theft and possession of stolen mail and aggravated identity theft.Salter, 25, of Newark, was charged on July 29 with conspiracy to commit access device fraud and conspiracy to commit mail theft. He was arrested Aug. 9.Dashaun Brown, 30, of Newark was charged July 29 with access device fraud and mail theft. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and he remains at large.Taylor, 27, of Bronx, New York, was charged Aug. 2 with conspiracy to commit mail theft and, as a federal employee, accepting bribes. She appeared in federal court on Aug. 3 and was released on a $30,000 bond. At the time of her arrest, Taylor was employed by the USPS at a post office in Manhattan. Prior: Mail Being Stolen From Blue USPS Boxes Around Secaucus (2019) Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service under the direction of Acting Inspector of Charge Rodney M. Hopkins, Newark Division; and special agents of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi, with the investigation leading to the charges. She also thanked the U.S. Marshals Service, District of New Jersey, under the direction of Marshal Juan Mattos Jr.; the U.S. Secret Service, New York Field Office. Be the first to know. Sign up to get Patch emails: https://patch.com/subscribe Contact this Patch reporter: [email protected]