A supervisor at a U.S. Post Office in Costa Mesa has been arrested and charged with stealing more than two dozen checks totaling more than $281,000 from the mail, federal prosecutors said.
Joivian Tjuana Hayes was working at the Costa Mesa Post Office when she allegedly stole the checks — including one for $114,000 — and deposited them into her bank accounts, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. The 36-year-old Compton woman faces one count of bank fraud for the alleged thefts dating back to July 2024, prosecutors said.
The federal charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 30 years.
Prosecutors said the checks had forged signatures and surveillance footage shows Hayes depositing them at ATMs in the cities of Fountain Valley, Compton and Costa Mesa.
However, an affidavit in the case states that she is also suspected of other thefts for which she has not been charged. Prosecutors say she is suspected of stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of cash and gold coins from mail at the same post office.
Hayes was arrested Thursday and the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced charges against her later that day. Federal agents executed search warrants on her home and vehicle that morning, according to prosecutors.
The case was investigated by the US Postal Service Office of Inspector General.
