Five indicted in Houston stolen-check scheme tied to USPS routes

Five people, including three USPS mail carriers, have been indicted in a federal case accusing them of stealing roughly $24 million in checks from mail on Houston routes and selling them via a Telegram channel called 'slipsandchips'; Vaughn recruited Kilpatrick, Alexander and Joubert to steal checks and Bryant to purchase them, with shipments sent by FedEx. The scheme spanned roughly Oct 2022–Sept 2024 and targeted banks including Chase, Amegy, Citibank, BMO and Stellar. They face conspiracy to commit bank fraud and multiple bank-fraud charges, with potential asset forfeiture if convicted. All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.