Lakewood Ranch postal worker used stolen checks to pay bills, prosecutors say
A Lakewood Ranch woman will spend the next several years in prison after jurors found she stole more than $64,000 in checks while working for the U.S. Postal Service.
A Sarasota County judge sentenced Anabel Ossombi, 30, to seven years in state prison, followed by 38 years of probation, according to court records. She must also repay $64,246.79 in restitution after prosecutors said she deposited at least 75 stolen checks from about 60 companies into her personal account between May 2022 and April 2023.
Jurors convicted Ossombi of a first-degree felony scheme to defraud involving more than $50,000 and a second-degree felony count of fraudulent use of personal identification, court records show. Prosecutors also initially charged her with money laundering, but they dropped that count before sentencing, according to court records.
An attorney representing Ossombi did not immediately respond to the Bradenton Herald’s request for comment.
Investigators said Ossombi worked as a mail sorter at three Sarasota-area post offices starting in May 2022 and began stealing checks almost immediately after she was hired. Sarasota police said they began investigating in January 2023, when victims reported checks that never reached their intended recipients.
Detectives subpoenaed records from Bank of America the following month and found the stolen checks had been deposited into Ossombi’s personal account using mobile banking, according to an arrest report.
Detectives traced thousands in stolen funds to Ossombi’s personal account, police said. According to an arrest report, she used the money to pay her rent, phone bill and to purchase virtual currency.
Officers arrested Ossombi in April 2023 at the Beneva Road post office in Sarasota, where she had been working at the time, according to Sarasota police.
State Attorney Ed Brodsky said Ossombi’s crimes represented a betrayal of the public trust.
“President Woodrow Wilson once described the importance of the mail and the Postal Service. As servants of the people, they are entrusted with our most personal information,” Brodsky said in a written statement. “Ms. Ossombi stood in a position of trust as a mail sorter and violated the most fundamental rule of being an employee at the U.S. Postal Service: Don’t steal the mail.”
Sarasota Circuit Judge Dana Moss handed down the sentence, according to court records.
