Cleveland, Ohio – A former Lakewood postal employee has been sentenced to federal prison following his involvement in a sweeping bank fraud conspiracy that targeted mailed business checks. Gregory Drake, 35, of Cleveland, was sentenced to 41 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Bridget Meehan Brennan after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and theft of mail by a postal employee.
The scheme, which unraveled in 2022, came to light when businesses in Lakewood, Ohio, began reporting missing checks that had been either mailed to or sent from the Lakewood Post Office. The reports triggered an investigation by the U.S. Postal Service-Office of the Inspector General (USPS-OIG).
Drake, employed at the time by the Lakewood Post Office, used his access to identify mail containing checks. “During that time and in the months that followed, Drake served as a postal worker in the Lakewood Post Office. Because of his role, he had access to mail that was in the custody of the USPS and was able to identify mail that contained checks.” He then passed those checks to co-conspirators who “would alter, duplicate, or forge them” for illegal deposit.
Drake’s scheme was interrupted on October 6, 2022, when USPS-OIG inspectors “caught Drake stealing two business checks from the mail.” Further investigation revealed the full scale of the conspiracy: 127 checks were stolen in total, carrying a cumulative value of $1,988,715.78.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Service-Office of the Inspector General and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brenna L. Fasko for the Northern District of Ohio. To report similar fraud or suspicious activity, authorities urge the public to visit https://www.uspis.gov/report.
