Former Stamford Postal Employee Accused Of Stealing Mail, Checks: Feds

STAMFORD, CT — A 34-year-old Stamford woman who is a formal postal employee is accused of stealing checks from mail and fraudulently depositing them into a bank account, according to authorities.

A federal grand jury in New Haven returned a 10-count indictment in March that charges Kierra Blount with fraud, identity theft and mail theft offenses, Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Ketty Larco-Ward, inspector in charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division, said in a joint news release Thursday.

The indictment, which was unsealed this week, charges Blount with eight count of bank fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years on each count; one count of aggravated identity theft, an offense that carries a mandatory prison term of two years; and one count of unlawful possession of stolen mail, which carries a maximum term prison term of five years, officials said.

Blount is currently being sought by law enforcement, and there is a reward of up to $100,000 for information on her whereabouts.

The indictment alleges that Blount, at times while employed by the U.S. Postal Service in Stamford, stole mail and obtained stolen mail for the purpose of getting checks that were payable to other people, officials said.

In approximately November 2021, Blount opened a bank account using the name and social security number of an individual without the identity theft victim’s knowledge, officials said.

Blount and others fraudulently changed the payee names on stolen checks to the name of the identity theft victim, forged the victim’s signature on the back of the checks, and deposited them into the bank account Blount opened, according to officials.

From November 2021 until the account was closed in April 2022, Blount and others deposited tens of thousands of dollars in fraudulent checks into the account, officials said, noting they then used the funds for their own purposes.

Blount was originally arrested on June 20, 2023, on firearms charges and risk of injury to a minor, police said at the time.

A search warrant of Blount's residence found a loaded 9mm "ghost gun," eight pages containing the names of potential victims and their personal identification information, multiple credit cards in the names of other people, over 350 checks made payable to multiple victims, and evidence that indicated Blount was stealing mail, police said.

An investigation continued and police said Blount faced additional federal charges for the items found in her home. She was later released after paying bond, the CT Judicial Branch website shows.