South Miami victim speaks out after postal carrier charged with stealing checks
A South Miami woman is speaking out after police say she was one of four people victimized by a U.S. postal carrier.
The victims reportedly placed their rent checks in drop boxes at two separate apartment buildings for their landlords.
Authorities say that Jay'Ven Christian Jolly, a 31-year-old postal carrier, retrieved the checks from the drop boxes, altered them by putting his own name on them, and then cashed them at an ATM in North Miami Beach.
Police released surveillance video in which they say Jolly was seen on Jan. 3rd cashing them.
Lead Detective Jackie Del Sol said the stolen checks totaled nearly $7,000. She believes there may be additional victims and is urging anyone affected to come forward and contact the South Miami Police.
One of the victims, who identified herself only as Saphi, told CBS News Miami, "At first, I thought the checks had simply been misplaced, and wondered if someone in the building might have intercepted the cashier's check after it cleared. But then I saw it had been cashed under the name Jau'Ven Jolly."
She said, "I am glad they arrested him for sure and I am grateful to South Miami Police and how they communicated with me. I am glad they caught him because it could have gotten worse."
She said, "We put our trust in those guys. I do hope that more people will come forward because this is not fair what happened. It would great to get some restitution."
She said she's unsure if she'll ever recover the $750 lost when her check was stolen. "People need to come forward so justice can be served," she urged.
Police confirmed that the postal carrier has been suspended. The postal service stated he is on "non-duty status," but declined to provide further details or comment.
Detective Del Sol siad, "He added his name to the checks. There's going to be multiple other victims who are going to receive landlord emails saying they have not received payments for a month in the checks and find out the offender's name will be on them. Carriers have universal keys that unlock mailboxes in the entire United States."