Northeast News
January 28, 2014

One Kansas City U.S. Postal Service (USPS) carrier didn’t just deliver mail, she allegedly helped herself to mailed EBT cards and money tucked inside greeting cards.

Forty-five-year-old Shawn C. Henderson of Kansas City, Mo., who worked for USPS as a city carrier associate since April of 2013, has been charged with one count of stealing government property, one count of stealing mail and one count of aggravated identity theft. The federal indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Henderson to forfeit to the government any proceeds obtained from the alleged offenses, including a money judgment of $1,656. A federal trial jury will determine whether Henderson is guilty or innocent.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri, Henderson allegedly stole $1,646 worth of EBT cards from customers on her mail route from April 20 to Aug. 7, 2013. EBT cards are similar to debit cards and are used to provide benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as “food stamps,” which helps lower-income individuals and families buy food. Henderson allegedly used the EBT cards herself and gave some of the cards to a person identified in the indictment as “E.M.”

During that time, Henderson allegedly removed greeting cards, gift cards and EBT cards from the mail she was responsible to deliver. Henderson allegedly opened mail that wasn’t addressed to her with the intent to steal those items for her own use.

The indictment also alleges that Henderson stole and used an EBT card by resetting the PIN and assuming the rightful owner’s identity at various food outlets.