BALTIMORE — A small business owner is fighting to keep his company open as mail thieves continue to target checks sent to his office, costing him thousands of dollars.
Since August, Joseph Nissel, owner of Renue Systems, a cleaning company serving the hospitality and commercial industries, estimates 25 to 30 checks mailed to his business near Park Heights have been stolen, altered and cashed by criminals.
"It's every week. It's getting stolen checks, checks not coming in the mail, not getting mail for a week or two, not a piece of mail," Nissel said.
The ongoing thefts have forced customers to repeatedly cancel and reissue payments, creating frustration for both Nissel and his clients.
"We went back and forth with the customer until they were able to provide us with a copy of the check that had someone else's name on it," Nissel said.
He added that the financial impact has been devastating.
"Severely. So we're a smaller company, a very successful company, but you can't operate a company if you don't have cash coming in to pay our employees, to stock equipment, to repair equipment, to stock chemicals," Nissel said.
Despite accepting online payments, Nissel said his clients prefer paying with paper checks.
"We do accept online ACH payments. We do accept credit cards, but the industry that we run in mainly they like paying with paper checks. That's just how they do it," Nissel said.
Nissel has reported the thefts, installed a more secure mailbox and even started picking up payments in person when possible.
"It breaks up my day, but I'm very grateful to them for doing that for me. A couple of weeks ago, there was a miscommunication and they had a check waiting for me, they put it in the mail. It was about three weeks ago, and we've never seen that check," Nissel said.
WMAR-2 News Mallory Sofastaii contacted USPS who referred inquiries to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which then referred questions to the USPS Office of the Inspector General. A spokesperson said their investigation into the matter is ongoing and encouraged customers to report mail theft issues to the OIG hotline.
"It's been a year plus and just nowhere to turn at this point," Nissel said.
The OIG has recently conducted mail theft audits in other cities including Houston and Sacramento. According to their upcoming audits, there isn't one scheduled in Baltimore, despite requests by lawmakers.
This case mirrors numerous other reports of checks and money orders being intercepted after being mailed at Baltimore post offices.
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After Senator Chris Van Hollen's office was contacted about the issue, USPS implemented a 30-day watch on Nissel's mail. Carriers must now present his mail to management for verification before delivery.
His office sent WMAR-2 News this statement:
"Maryland residents and businesses deserve reliable mail service free from the fear of their mail being stolen. When Marylanders contact us suspecting they have been the victim of check-washing, my team immediately works to pass on these concerns to USPS and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for further investigation. USPS and federal law enforcement must also take a close look at any emerging patterns in theft, and if necessary take additional steps to put a stop to it.”
Congressman Johnny Olszewski is also encouraging constituents to contact his office directly with mail theft concerns.
"One instance of mail fraud and theft is one too many and can be catastrophic to a business owner or family already struggling with higher costs. We continue to press local USPS leadership on the scope of the problem in our area and, more importantly, what resources they need to better protect postal customers to prevent future incidents. We encourage any constituent who has been victimized to contact our office directly for assistance.”
How to File Complaints with Postal and Law Enforcement Agencies
- United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS): Report mail theft/fraud at uspis.gov/report or call 1-877-876-2455; investigates crimes involving mail, postal employees, or postal property.
- USPS Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG): Report internal postal misconduct at uspsoig.gov/hotline or call 1-888-USPS-OIG; handles employee misconduct and postal contractor fraud.
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (FBI IC3): Report internet-enabled crimes at ic3.gov; handles online fraud, phishing scams, and refers cases to appropriate agencies.
- Contact Congressman Kweisi Mfume's Office: mfume.house.gov/contact
- Contact Congressman Johnny Olszewski's Office: https://olszewski.house.gov/contact
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.