Stolen check costs Chesterfield woman $4,000: 'You feel helpless'

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- A Chesterfield woman says she's hit a dead end trying to get help after having a check worth thousands of dollars stolen from her mail.

For years, Wendy Bass has paid her business's quarterly taxes through the U.S. Postal Service.

She told CBS 6 she hand-delivered a check of more than $4,000, made out to the U.S. Treasury, to her local post office at Sycamore Square in Midlothian in June.

"I have for the last 20-some years," Bass said.

A month later, while looking at her bank statements, she noticed a photo of the check, but something was wrong.

"I was like, this is not right," Bass said. "I was like, 'Who is this person?'"

Her check, worth $4,640 was made out to a "Jordan Brooke," not the U.S. Treasury. Whoever had gotten their hands on her mail, changed the amount to $4,040.

Wendy Bass

She immediately filed a claim with her business's bank, Atlantic Union Bank, and contacted Chesterfield Police.

"The police, as well as all the bank officials that I have spoken with have said, 'Well, we're pretty confident that it was intercepted at the post office,'" Bass explained. "I don't have proof, but that's what they said."

Bass said an investigator with Chesterfield Police said USPS was out of jurisdiction, and catching the perpetrator, who'd gotten money from the check through a mobile deposit, would be incredibly difficult.

According to a letter Bass shared with CBS 6, the funds were used at a different bank, and when trying to assess her claim, her bank said that "no funds were available to return."

"Well of course they're not going to be there. That person took the money as soon as it showed up in their account. They took the money and ran, did something else with it," Bass said.

According to Atlantic Union Bank's policy, Bass is responsible for all fraudulent or unauthorized transactions unless the bank "acted in bad faith," or their "negligence contributed to the loss."

"I don't think a human saw it, I think it was processed through a computer," Bass said. "There were so many red flags on this particular check."

WTVR

CBS 6 did inquire about Bass's situation with Atlantic Union Bank and will update this story when we receive a response.

Bass said she never filed a report specifically with USPS, saying she was unsure if it would go anywhere, since she didn't have any physical proof that an employee may have tampered with the check.

She had to pay the original amount to the U.S. Treasury again to get her tax payment in on time.

"You feel helpless," Bass said.

When CBS 6 interviewed Bass, she was unaware of any entity investigating her claim.

A spokesperson with the USPS Office of the Inspector General told CBS 6 that its local office is aware of this complaint and is currently conducting an investigation into the alleged threat.

A statement sent to CBS 6 says in part:

"This type of behavior within the Postal Service is not tolerated and is a rare occurrence. It is important for the public we serve to know the overwhelming majority of Postal Service employees are honest, hardworking, and trustworthy individuals who would never consider engaging in any type of criminal behavior."

It goes on to say the following: "The USPS OIG considers the allegations of delay, destruction, or theft of any U.S. Mail by any Postal Service employee to be a very serious issue. When such allegations are made, USPS OIG special agents vigorously investigate these allegations."

Bass said still, she wonders if others going through similar issues will face the same kind of response from their bank.

According to USPS OIG, the fastest way to make a report is by filing a Hotline Complaint, which can be done here .

CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom .

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