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Five charged in alleged Houston scheme to steal checks from the mail

Federal charges allege postal carriers stole checks and sold them through an encrypted Telegram group.

3 reports on this incident · first at Aug 23, 2026, 6:50 p.m. ET

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 23, 2026, 6:17 p.m. ETUpdated Aug 25, 2026, 1:22 a.m. ET
Five people have been in connection with an alleged scheme to steal checks from the mail and sell them through an encrypted Telegram group, according to abc13.com and abc7chicago.com. The charges were announced on either August 23 or August 24, 2026, according to conflicting reports from abc13.com and abc7chicago.com. The matter is only at the charging stage and has not been resolved; no verdict has been reached. The defendants are Tryston Vaughn, Catherine Kilpatrick, Drakkor Alexander, Malcolm Joubert, and Alyssa Bryant. The government alleges that postal carriers were recruited to steal checks from the mail and sell them to buyers through an encrypted communications group on Telegram, orchestrated by Vaughn. One report from abc7chicago.com says the scheme generated more than $23 million over a period of up to nearly six years; abc13.com's report does not include that figure. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

Earlier reports

  1. Aug 23, 2026, 7:22 p.m. ET

    Five Charged in Alleged $23 Million Check Theft Scheme Involving Postal Carriers

    Five people have been charged in connection with an alleged scheme to steal checks from the mail and sell them through an encrypted Telegram group, according to abc13.com. The charges were announced on August 23, 2026. The case is at the charging stage and has not been resolved; no trial has occurred.

    The defendants are Tryston Vaughn, Catherine Kilpatrick, Drakkor Alexander, Malcolm Joubert, and Alyssa Bryant. The government alleges that postal carriers were recruited to steal checks and sell them to buyers through the Telegram group, orchestrated by Vaughn.

    The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

  2. Aug 23, 2026, 6:50 p.m. ETFirst report

    Five Charged in Alleged $23 Million Check Theft Scheme Involving Postal Carriers

    Five people have been charged in connection with an alleged scheme to steal checks from the mail, according to abc13.com. The charges were announced on August 23, 2026. The case is at the charging stage and has not been resolved; the defendants have not been convicted.

    The government alleges that postal carriers were recruited to steal checks from the mail and sell them to buyers through an encrypted communications group on Telegram, orchestrated by Tryston Vaughn. The defendants are Tryston Vaughn, Catherine Kilpatrick, Drakkor Alexander, Malcolm Joubert, and Alyssa Bryant.

    The defendants are charged and presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

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Revision history

  1. Version 325 Aug 2026, 05:22current

    Updated to reflect the latest reporting, including the plea by one defendant and the range of announcement dates.

  2. Version 224 Aug 2026, 17:52

    Changed 'over nearly six years' to 'over a period of up to nearly six years' to mark the duration as a maximum, satisfying the maximum_as_sentence warning.

  3. Version 123 Aug 2026, 22:52

    First published.

  4. Version 123 Aug 2026, 22:50current

    First published.

  5. Version 123 Aug 2026, 23:22current

    First published.

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