SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - California, Central), published as received.

SANTA ANA, California – A United States Postal Service supervisor was arrested this morning on a federal criminal complaint alleging she stole more than 20 checks from the U.S. mail and deposited them into her accounts at multiple different banks.

Joivian Tjuana Hayes, 36, of Compton, who is a supervisor at the Costa Mesa Post Office, is expected to make her initial court appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in Santa Ana. A criminal complaint filed Wednesday charges Hayes with one count of bank fraud.

According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, since July 2024, Hayes deposited more than 20 checks that had been stolen from the mail at the Costa Mesa Post Office into her bank accounts at various banks. Hayes allegedly deposited those checks, which had forged signatures of the payees, including one check for more than $114,000. ATM surveillance video shows Hayes making deposits of multiple stolen checks with forged signatures at ATMs in Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa, and Compton.

Hayes’s scheme allegedly involved more than $281,000 in stolen checks that she deposited into her bank accounts. According to the affidavit, Hayes is also suspected of stealing tens of thousands of dollars in currency and gold coins from mail that had been processed through the Costa Mesa Post Office.

Federal agents executed search warrants this morning at Hayes’s residence in Compton and of her 2023 BMW vehicle.

A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted of the bank fraud offense alleged in the complaint, Hayes would face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.

The United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Charles E. Pell of the Orange County Office is prosecuting the case.