Charlotte man sentenced to three years from stolen mail scheme; co-conspirators awaiting date

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – A Charlotte man was sentenced to prison Friday after being convicted for his role in a stolen mail conspiracy, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

Terrell Alexander Hager Jr., 25, of Charlotte, was ordered to serve three years in prison followed by two years of supervised release.

In September 2023, Hager’s co-conspirators, Kiara Padgett, and her husband, Dominique Dunlap, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Dunlap also pled guilty to four counts of possession of stolen mail.

A sentencing date for Padgett and Dunlap has not been set.

According to court documents from the Western District of North Carolina and the sentencing hearing, from August 2021 to November 2022, Hager conspired with Padgett, Dunlap, and others to operate a bank fraud scheme involving stolen checks. Padgett, who at the time was employed by the U.S. Postal Service, was accused of using her position as a postal carrier to steal incoming and outgoing checks of businesses and individuals.

Padgett used Dunlap as her intermediary to sell the stolen checks to Hager. Hager and his co-conspirators then deposited the stolen checks into bank accounts they controlled and withdrew the funds before the financial institutions discovered the fraud. During the conspiracy, documents reveal that Hager and his co-conspirators deposited more than $66,000 in stolen or counterfeit checks and money orders.

Court documents also show that, from October 2021 through November 2022, Hager served as the primary administrator and owner of a Telegram channel, “Hunnitband Swipe School,” which he used to sell some of the stolen checks. At the time of Hager’s alleged fraud, he was on probation with the state of North Carolina for an unrelated offense.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Postal Service Office of the Inspector General, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police for their investigation of the case. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Frick of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.

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