A United States Postal Service (USPS) supervisor pleaded guilty today to stealing approximately $284,000 in checks and up to $40,000 in other items – including gold and collector-type currency such as a Confederate $10 bill – from the U.S. mail.
Joivian Tjuana Hayes, 36, of Compton, who was a supervisor at the Costa Mesa Post Office, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of mail matter by Postal Service employee and one count of unlawful transfer, possession, and use of means of identification.
According to her plea agreement, from early last year until December 2024, while on duty with USPS, Hayes stole mail from the Costa Mesa Post Office, including checks that had been mailed, which she then deposited into her own bank accounts by forging the payees listed on the checks.
Hayes stole at least 20 checks totaling approximately $284,000, which she then deposited into her bank accounts at various banks. She also stole and deposited $3,000 in postal money orders that had been mailed. She deposited the stolen checks by using her banks’ mobile apps and at ATMs. During some of the ATM deposits, Hayes wore a blue t-shirt bearing a USPS logo.
During a search of Hayes’ residence last month, law enforcement found multiple gold coins and bills of U.S. currency that had been sent by registered mail. Hayes had stolen these items from the Costa Mesa Post Office. Among those items included a $1 bill dating from 1917 with a sticky note listing a value of $675, a $100 bill dating from 1914 valued at $1,500, and a $10 Confederate States of America bill.
During that same search, federal agents also found various gold pieces, including a $5 gold piece with sticky note listing a value of $1,600. Federal agents also found inside Hayes’ bedroom a pink wallet with a U.S. Treasury check payable to a victim in the amount of $2,599, addressed to a location in Costa Mesa, which defendant had also stolen from the mail at the Costa Mesa Post Office.
The intended loss from Hayes’ theft of mail is approximately $304,000 to $324,288, which is comprised of approximately $284,000 in stolen checks that Hayes deposited into her various bank accounts and approximately $20,000 to $40,000 in other items she had stolen from the mail, including gold coins and currency.
United States District Judge John W. Holcomb scheduled a May 23 sentencing hearing, at which time Hayes will face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for the theft count and up to 15 years in federal prison for the unlawful transfer count.