RALEIGH, N.C. — A former U.S. Postal Service employee was sentenced to four years in federal prison after stealing more than $750,000 in U.S. Treasury checks, including tax refunds, from the mail system while working at a Fayetteville processing center.
Zerion Marcos Franklin, 30, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution to the U.S. Treasury following his guilty plea, according to federal prosecutors. Franklin’s scheme included altering stolen checks and cashing them, defrauding taxpayers and beneficiaries of federal programs such as Social Security and Veterans Affairs.
“Our American postal service is a public trust,” said U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley, Jr., for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Easley called Franklin “the rare exception” to the integrity upheld by most postal employees, adding, “The consequence is clear: steal mail, face prison.”
The investigation began in June 2024 when Fayetteville police stopped Franklin for a traffic violation. Officers discovered drug paraphernalia in his car and conducted a search, which revealed 47 U.S. Treasury checks payable to other individuals, marijuana packaged for sale, a loaded 9mm handgun, and over $22,000 in cash.
Investigators later linked Franklin to the theft of a tax refund check belonging to an elderly New Hanover County resident. The check, altered to bear Franklin’s name, was cashed at a Walmart in May 2023. Federal agents determined Franklin had stolen checks worth more than $750,000 in total, representing federal benefits and refunds.
“The vast majority of Postal Service employees are honest, hardworking individuals,” said Kathleen Woodson, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Office of the Inspector General. “An employee who decides otherwise will be aggressively investigated.”