If You Didn't Receive Your Tax Refund Check, This D.C. Mailman Might Be The Reason...Here's Why
Tax season is here and many Americans are probably wondering if they will owe more than what they might receive back. However, some Washington D.C. residents may be on edge after having their tax return checks stolen. The Feds say a former U.S. Postal Service employee is to blame.
The Justice Department says 44-year-old Hachikosela Muchimba was accused on March 14 of being behind the disappearance of millions worth of tax return checks. Authorities caught on to his scheme in January of 2023 after someone reported their $14,000 check was deposited but... not into their bank.
Federal prosecutors said the individual then used some context clues to put two-and-two together: the address and name on the check matched the information of their mail carrier, according to a criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE.
Authorities then discovered the bank where the funds were deposited had copies of 'four additional U.S. Treasury checks that were fraudulently negotiated.' They totaled up to $57,000. However, over the next few months, federal authorities snuffed out another 98 checks Muchimba had stolen from the folks on his mail route and deposited — all while in his USPS uniform.
The Justice Department says Muchimba's scheme ran from between December 2020 and March 2023, depositing the checks by removing the name of the true recipient and replacing it with his name. Surveillance footage from the bank caught him in the act which federal prosecutors say funded international trips, luxury hotel stays and purchases at gentlemen's clubs. He secured $1.6 million from his ventures.
Muchimba was charged with conspiracy to commit theft of mail and bank fraud, theft of mail, bank fraud, engaging in a monetary transaction in property derived from specified unlawful activity and unlawful procurement of citizenship or naturalization, per the DOJ.
The Feds say Muchimba also applied to become a citizen while providing false information to the immigration office. He was found guilty of all charges Friday by a federal jury.
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Is it legal to run over protesters in Florida? How to stay safe at 'No Kings' protests
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"You don't have to sit there and just be a sitting duck and let the mob grab you out of your car and drag you through the streets. You have a right to defend yourself in Florida," he said. In a Fox News interview, DeSantis said local police, county sheriffs, Highway Patrol and even the National Guard will be ready to stop any violence or 'unrest' at the statewide protests. 'It's a bad decision to try to pull that nonsense in Florida,' DeSantis said. Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey was even more direct. "If you throw a brick, a fire bomb, or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains, because we will kill you, graveyard dead," he said at a press conference with Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and other lawmakers. If you plan to attend or participate in a protest in Florida, here's what you should know. Florida law does not specifically say people can drive into crowds. 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DeSantis signed a sweeping "anti-riot" bill in 2021 in the wake of the George Floyd protests to increase punishments for people who violently riot, loot and destroy properties and add several new crimes including "mob intimidation" and "aggravated rioting," calling it the "strongest anti-rioting, most pro-law enforcement piece of legislation in the country." HB 1 was blocked in the courts for being potentially unconstitutional, chilling against free speech, and overly vague about what defines a "riot." The Florida Supreme Court ruled in favor of the new law in 2024, clarifying peaceful protesters should not be arrested if involved in a protest where violence occurs, and an appeals court allowed the state to enforce it. Protesters are not permitted to willfully obstruct the "free, convenient, and normal use" of any public street, highway, or road. 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