It’s not unusual to see a conviction for wire fraud or mail fraud in corporate fraud cases. Mailing a check or electronically transferring money is common in schemes and tends to be an easier conviction.
Today we have a different kind of mail fraud. Ephrem D. Nguyen was a postmaster for the Danbury, Connecticut post office. Part of Nguyen’s responsibilities included supervising maintenance and repair for USPS equipment, facilities and vehicles. Late in 2020, Nguyen required that all postal vehicles go to a specific shop for repairs, despite that shop not being the contract by the postal service for that office.
As part of redirecting the service. Nguyen insisted on free car repairs and service for himself, a co-worker, one of his children, and more. In 2022 he insisted on a cash bribe from the shop of $90k. All of these costs were passed on to the postal service by overcharging for services. Ultimately his bribes, embezzlement, and kickbacks resulted in an estimated loss to USPS of $875k.
Just a reminder, kickbacks are illegal because the employee is putting their interests above their employer’s interests. That violates the fiduciary duty they have as part of being an employee and as part of having responsibility for financial matters. Too many people view kickbacks as a way of doing business. They tell themselves no one is getting hurt. It’s still illegal.