Brooklyn Woman Charged with Possession of Stolen Mail in Connection with Theft of More Than $167,000 from Former Employer

NEWARK, N.J. – A Brooklyn woman has been charged with possession of stolen mail in connection with stealing over $167,000 in funds from her one-time employer, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Kathryn Mountain, 36, of Brooklyn, New York, is charged by complaint with one count of possession of stolen mail. She made her initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer on June 6, 2024, and was released on an unsecured bond of $100,000.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From December 2022 through July 2023, Mountain stole and fraudulently obtained mail that contained checks from her former employer and fraudulently deposited those checks into her own bank account. Mountain executed this scheme by first placing a mail hold on her former employer’s mail, which caused the mail to be held at a Newark post office until retrieved by a representative from the company instead of the mail being sent directly to the company. Mountain went to the Newark post office, represented herself as an active member of the company although she had previously been fired, and collected the company’s mail. Mountain then deposited the checks she found in the stolen mail – which had been mailed by the company’s clients to the company as payment for services – into her business bank account.

Mountain attempted to deposit $272,940 in stolen funds; the alleged actual loss caused by Mountain was $167,119.

The count of possession of stolen mail is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, under the direction of Postal Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen, Philadelphia Division, with the investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Javon Henry of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.