Three U.S. Postal Service employees are among four people arrested in connection with a more than 5-year-old $1.3 million fraud and identity theft scheme carried out in the New York metropolitan area, according to the Department of Justice.

According to a release from the DOJ, starting in December 2018, the postal employees and a civilian accomplice stole credit cards in the mail and then used them at a variety of high end retail stores in New York and New Jersey.

U.S. postal workers Nathanael Foucault, Johnathan Persaud, Fabiola Mompoint, and Devon Richards, who is not a postal worker, were arrested Thursday, the department reported.

An additional five people facing changes in connection with the case remain at large, the DOJ reported.

The charges include conspiracy to commit access device fraud, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft charges, and each face lengthy federal prison sentences if convicted of the crimes.

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“The defendants took advantage of the public trust we place in US Postal Service employees for their own financial gain,” US Attorney Damian Williams wrote in a statement. “Thanks to the diligence of USPIS (the Postal Inspection Service), the NYPD, and USPS-OIG (the Office of the Inspector General), the defendants will now be held accountable for their brazen criminal conduct.

Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US postal workers arrested in 1.3 million fraud scheme in NJ, NY

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