Four former postal service employees have been charged with defrauding the government.
The U.S. Attorney's office announced that 45-year old Emma Robinson, of Laurens; 28-year old Eric Foster, of Boiling Springs; 43-year old Lillie Owings, of Ware Shoals and 28-year old Kyotji Elmore, of Woodruff, were all indicted for filing false claims for unemployment.
In a prepared statement, U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles said the indictments of the four people follow a prior indictment of five people from Florence for similar crimes. The indictments are part of a ongoing sweep targeting fraud by postal workers in claiming unemployment benefits.
"These indictments represent a collaborative effort between the South Carolina Employment Securities Commission, the Department of Labor Inspector General and the Postal Services Office of Inspector General, said Jane Yarborough, Special Agent In Charge of the Office of Inspector General. "The Postal Service prides itself in its dedicated and professional employees and their ability to provide service our customers have come to expect."
Robinson and Foster were each indicted on one count of theft from the United States government and could face a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. Owings and Elmore were each indicted on one count of theft from the United States government and making a false statement to obtain unemployment benefits. The maximum prison sentence for both could be 10 years, according to Nettles.
"The employees identified today are a very small percentage of the thousands of South Carolina Postal workers entrusted with processing and delivering the public's letters and parcels each day," said Yarborough.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement