Montgomery Postal Worker Guilty of Mail Fraud and Embezzlement

A former mail carrier for the Montgomery post office, Vernon Harrison, has been found guilty on charges of mail fraud, identity theft, and embezzlement.  According to George L. Beck’s office, Harrison is guilty on one count of conspiring to file false claims, eight counts of mail fraud, eight counts of aggravated identity theft, and six counts of embezzlement.

Federal prosecutors say evidence presented during trial showed that Harrison was part of a fraud scam that filed false tax returns from various locations using stolen identities. The fraudulent refunds were issued as debit cards that were mailed to addresses on Harrison’s postal route in Montgomery.  In exchange for cash, Harrison stole more than 100 debit cards from the mail and provided them to co-conspirators.  Agents also conducted surveillance on Harrison and observed him failing to deliver Turbo Tax cards that were in the mail.

Under the federal statutes for this case, Vernon Harrison faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the one count of conspiracy, 20 years for each of the mail fraud counts, and 5 years for each mail embezzlement count.  He will also face a two year mandatory sentence for the aggravated identity theft charges and will be subject to fines, forfeiture, and mandatory restitution.

Special Agents of the IRS Criminal Investigation and the United States Postal Service OIG investigated this case.  Tax Division Trial Attorneys Jason Poole and Michael Boteler prosecuted the case.