Former Wisconsin postal worker pleads guilty to stealing Menards rebate check; he may have stolen more

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·2 min read
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A former U.S. Postal Service mail carrier admitted to stealing a Menards rebate check from a woman in western Wisconsin, but federal authorities believe he's linked to dozens of similar thefts.

Joshua P. Copas, 38, of Cumberland, pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to a single count of theft of mail while he worked for the Postal Service.

Copas won't spend a day in jail. Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson sentenced him to four years of probation, and ordered him to pay $4,547.84 in restitution to the victims.

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Prosecutors said the woman contacted local police department in June 2022 to report a stolen Menards rebate check.

She expected the check, but it never arrived. She called Menards and learned the check had been spent without her knowledge, Timothy M. O’Shea, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, said in a written statement,

Footage of the transaction showed the check was used by Copas, who was a mail carrier at the time, the statement said.

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Further investigation linked Copas to thefts of 30 other Menards rebate checks, O'Shea said. All but two of them were supposed to have been delivered on his mail route from late March to late May 2022.

The total dollar amount associated with the 31 stolen checks was $4,547.84.

Peterson said Copas’ crime financially harmed the victims, and also tarnished the reputation of the Postal Service.

"Copas was given a position of trust with the Postal Service and violated that trust. His theft degraded the confidence that the public places in the Postal Service to steadfastly deliver the mail," the statement read.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Cumberland Police Department, and Rice Lake Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Anita Marie Boor prosecuted the case.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin postal worker linked to stolen Menards rebate checks