23 September 2023 , 01:30
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For months, American mail carrier Hachikosela Muchimba allegedly ran an elaborate scheme and stole nearly $1.7 million (£1.4 million) from the US Treasury and the people living along his delivery route. Then, he tried to flee to his native country of Zambia.
But on Wednesday, it all ended when the mailman was arrested by federal authorities and charged with two felony counts of mail theft and bank fraud, court documents reveal — just as he prepared to board his plane.
Between October 2021 and March 2023, Muchimba allegedly misappropriated the checks of half a dozen US Postal Service patrons along his route in Washington, D.C., and wrote his own name on them as the recipient. He would then cash them into several of his bank accounts.
Muchimba was caught on multiple security cameras depositing the misappropriated checks (WUSA9)The scam was discovered in January this year after one of Muchimba's alleged targets reported a stolen check that had been fraudulently cashed. The D.C. resident had noticed the theft after a check they were supposed to receive from the US Treasury never arrived. After inquiring about it, they discovered what had happened to the check.
In an official court document, investigators detailed the discovery, stating that the check, which had been made out for over $14,000, was recovered, and the originally intended recipient had noticed that the address written on the check under Muchimba's name was the same one that had appeared on a holiday card the mail carrier had given the family for Christmas that year.
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"According to this customer, the USPS mail carrier provided holiday cards to the residents on his mail route in December 2022. W-1 [the customer] showed me the mailing label that appeared on the holiday card from his mail carrier," the document reads.
Muchimba allegedly stole the money between October 2021 and March 2023 (WUSA9)The check had allegedly been cashed in September of that year into a TD Bank account held by "Double Blue Investments," a company traced back to Muchimba. When the investigator looked into the bank account, they discovered that other, similar checks had been fraudulently deposited into said account, misappropriated from the US Treasury and stolen from their intended recipients.
Five of the six checks investigated were originally intended for individuals living on route 23, the mail route Muchimba serviced for Friendship Post Office on Wisconsin Avenue beginning at the end of 2021 until March 2023. In March, he was suspended from duty as the investigation unfolded. He had been working for the USPS since 2020.
The investigation later unveiled 98 checks Muchimba had deposited across seven bank accounts, which altogether totaled nearly $1.7 million (£1.4 million). Some had been valued at as much as $400,000. He was caught on ATM and bank security cameras depositing many of them.
Muchimba had been based out of the Friendship Post Office on Wisconsin Avenue (google)That particular $400,000 check's money was later seized by the authorities, as were his US Passport and other identification documents in an attempt to stop him from leaving the country when the investigation started in March, reported WUSA9.
He found a workaround, however, and obtained a Zambian passport, which is what he used to try and book his flight out of the country. He also allegedly used someone else's card to pay for the flights.
Muchimba was arrested at Dulles International Airport in Virginia on Wednesday morning, and the authorities seized $2,000 in cash and his new passport. Earlier this year, in June, he rejected a plea deal for the charges that were to be brought forth against him. His new court date was set for November 15.
But the investigation isn't over — the court documents allege that Muchimba had an accomplice, another postal worker who helped him steal some of the checks. They haven't yet been identified.