BOSTON (AP) — A U.S. Postal Service employee from Massachusetts has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $20,000 in payments from post office customers.
Federal prosecutors say 22-year-old Austin Correia, of New Bedford, pleaded guilty Tuesday to embezzlement and theft of public money.
Correia, who was arrested in June, began working for the Postal Service in late 2017. Prosecutors say Correia took cash payments from customers buying stamps or money orders. He voided the valid transactions to make it appear as if they did not occur, and kept the cash for personal use, sometimes purchasing gift cards sold at the post office.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in November. He could have faced 10 years in prison, but under a plea deal he faces just two years of probation and restitution.
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