DELCO Resident Gets Over Six Years In Federal Prison For Stealing Government Checks
by Alex Lloyd Gross
US Attorney David Metcalf said that Alexander Telewoda, 26, of Clifton Heights, just got six and a half years in Federal Prison, for his role in a scheme to steal checks. He worked with co-defendants Saahir Irby, 28, and Tauheed Tucker, 24, both of Philadelphia, Pa., and Cory Scott, 26, of Ardmore, Pa. All four pleaded guilty this May to conspiracy to steal government funds, theft of government funds, and mail theft.
Telewoda was an integral member of the conspiracy. Between June 2023 and September 2024, Irby and Tucker, while working as United States Postal Service (“USPS”) mail processing clerks, stole thousands of envelopes containing U.S. Treasury checks from mail sorting machines at the USPS Philadelphia Processing and Distribution Center.
Irby and Tucker removed the checks from the USPS facility and sold them to defendants Scott and Telewoda, who then advertised the stolen checks for resale on the Telegram app. Upon receiving payment from interested buyers, Scott and Telewoda mailed the stolen Treasury checks to buyers around the country who attempted to cash the stolen checks.
Metcalf said that the value of the checks exceeded $84 million. Even after Irby and Tucker were fired from the Postal Service, Telewoda wasn’t discouraged from his crimes. He found a replacement source of stolen Treasury checks and continued to advertise and resell them. By the time of his arrest in June 2025, Telewoda had been tied to stolen Treasury checks with an aggregate face value totaling more than $121 million, including more than $3 million in stolen checks recovered from his home on the day of his arrest.
Irby, Tucker, and Scott are scheduled to be sentenced in October. Irby faces a maximum possible term of 25 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $1,000,000 fine. Tucker and Scott each face a maximum possible sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a $750,000 fine.