On February 23, 2023 a federal grand jury in Charlotte, NC indicted four men in an alleged scheme involving stolen United States Postal Service money orders, generating $750,000 cash. The accused are Ravenna Dorsey, 33, Jaren Jamar Hopkins-Benton, 28, Gregory Singleton, 27, and Shawn Brooks, 40.
The suspects are each charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States by possessing and passing forged and altered USPS money orders, and possession of stolen and fraudulently altered USPS money orders.
According to allegations in the indictment, between November 2020 and February 2023, the suspects acquired approximately 2,500 blank USPS money orders stolen from Charlotte area post offices.
The indictment alleges that the suspects purchased and used legitimate USPS money orders as templates to generate falsified and forged USPS money orders, which they deposited into multiple bank accounts and credit union accounts.
The suspects then allegedly withdrew the cash proceeds before the financial institutions detected the fraud, prosecutors say.
As alleged in the indictment, the men redeemed approximately 800 of the stolen USPS money orders, causing losses totaling more than $750,000.
A federal district court judge will determine each defendant’s sentence if they are convicted or plead guilty.
