Philadelphia postal worker allegedly stole 112 US Treasury checks while at work

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — A Philadelphia postal worker is currently unable to work after authorities say he stole 112 mail pieces containing U.S. Treasury checks earlier this summer.

According to court documents filed this month, the theft occurred Aug. 4 at the Philadelphia Processing and Distribution Center at 7500 Lindbergh Boulevard.

The suspect, identified as Saahir Irby, was arrested on Wednesday for mail theft.

According to court documents, Irby has worked as a mail handler at the Lindbergh Boulevard Center since 2021, where he operates mail sorting machines.

The Office of the Inspector General said Irby was placed in “emergency housing” on Wednesday and is not currently working for the USPS.

A criminal complaint states that Irby was seen on surveillance video receiving handfuls of mail at the Philadelphia facility in the early morning hours of Aug. 4. The distribution center is responsible for processing both outgoing U.S. Treasury checks printed by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service in Philadelphia and all U.S. Treasury checks issued nationwide that are marked “returned to sender.”

Authorities said Irby had access to machines and containers used to sort the checks, which included welfare payments and tax refunds.

Irby is said to have arrived at work on August 3 at 10:19 p.m.

According to investigators, the alleged theft occurred between 2:47 a.m. and 4:49 a.m. the next morning.

All 112 envelopes were later found in a vehicle outside the Rivers Casino in Fishtown on August 7.

According to the indictment, the video showed a man wearing latex gloves handling the envelopes. Four of the checks were opened and all were addressed to people in southeastern Pennsylvania.

The Office of the Inspector General could not disclose their total value.

“This type of alleged conduct will not be tolerated at the Postal Service, and the vast majority of postal workers who serve the public are honest, hard-working and trustworthy individuals who would never consider engaging in any type of criminal conduct,” a Postal Service spokesman said.

The man found with the checks is a suspect in connection with an armed robbery at another casino in March, investigators said. He has not yet been identified because he has not yet been charged with a crime.

Authorities said the barcodes on four of the checks were processed and scanned on the same machine located near where Irby was seen on video.

Further details regarding the alleged sale of the checks are still being investigated.