SCRANTON — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Pennsylvania, Middle), published as received.
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that a Criminal Information was filed in U.S. District Court in Scranton charging a Luzerne county man with stealing over $20,000 from the United States Postal Service by submitting multiple false insurance claims over an eight month period.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, on multiple occasions between October 2011 and June 2013, David Steele, age 44, of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, submitted false insurance claims to the United States Postal Service, resulting in losses totaling $20,903.13.
The government filed a plea agreement in the case which is subject to the approval of the court.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General. Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Peter Hobart.
Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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