A 28-year-old Houston man already free on a $600,000 bond in a murder case is now accused of running a nearly $24 million check-theft ring, by recruiting U.S. Postal Service mail carriers to steal checks off their own routes and selling the loot on Telegram.
Tryston Tremaine Vaughn, 28, is alleged to have recruited USPS mail carriers to steal checks on their delivery routes, the DOJ said in an August 25 statement.
Those checks were then allegedly bought from the postal workers by Vaughn and others, advertised on a Telegram channel called “slipsandchips,” and shipped to buyers across the country via FedEx.
Prosecutors say the haul totaled approximately $23,973,338.15. One stolen check was for $1.5 million.
And the man accused of running the operation was not locked in a cell while this was happening. He was walking around on bond after a fatal shooting.
A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas returned a nine-count indictment charging five people:
- Tryston Tremaine Vaughn, 28 — alleged recruiter and ringleader
- Alyssa Nadine Bryant, 27 — accused of helping buy, sell, and ship the stolen checks
- Catherine Clauzelle Kilpatrick, 29 — USPS mail carrier (Greens North Station)
- Drakkor Jamar Alexander, 34 — USPS mail carrier (Spring Main Post Office)
- Malcolm Tiree Joubert, 35 — USPS mail carrier (Windmill Station)
All five face conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud. The three carriers also face theft of mail matter by a postal employee.
Hellbound and Down 