Lassana Diaby of Missoula has admitted to stealing and cashing gift cards from a birthday card while he worked for the U.S. Postal Service.
U.S. Attorney Leif Johnson said in a news release that Diaby, 40 years old, pleaded guilty in federal court to an indictment charging him with theft of mail by officer or employee.
In court documents, the government alleged that on March 26, 2021, a U.S. Postal Service customer reported items were stolen from a birthday card that was sent to his locking mailbox in Missoula.
The sender confirmed that she mailed the card on March 20, 2021, from Whitefish and that it contained a $200 gift card to Costco, two $100 gift cards to Amazon, and $40 cash.
An investigation determined that Diaby presented his Costco membership card and the gift card to complete a purchase at the Costco in Missoula and presented his receipt to a Costco employee at the exit.
At the time, Diaby worked for the U.S. Postal Service as a mail processing clerk and completed night shifts from March 20 to March 23, including working several hours in the manual letter-sorting section.
Diaby faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John Johnston presided, and scheduled sentencing for June 1 before U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen.
Diaby was released pending further proceedings.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Karla Painter is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.
