This week, U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., wrote to United States Postal Service (USPS) Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale about “the increase of check washing cases in Miami.”
The congresswoman wrote Barksdale about the matter on Monday.
“Check washing is a crime where a person steals checks from mailboxes and changes the payee names and dollar amounts before fraudulently depositing them. Often, criminals will use chemicals to remove the original ink. According to the USPS, Postal Inspectors recover more than $1 billion in counterfeit checks and money orders every year,” the congresswoman’s office noted.
“At a time when every penny matters to the hardworking residents of my district, it is unacceptable that while check washing is on the rise in Miami, USPS does not seem to be taking these cases seriously,” said Salazar. “My constituents are desperate for answers and have received little to no response from the principle law enforcement branch of the USPS. That needs to change immediately.”
Salazar called on the USPS Inspection Service to “provide her and her staff with a full briefing to discuss the issue.”
Currently representing parts of Miami Dade County, Salazar was elected to Congress in 2020.
