Current And Former JFK Airport Cargo Handlers Arrested In Schemes To Steal From The Mail And Launder Foreign Currency Valued At More Than $250,000

A criminal complaint was unsealed today in federal court in the Eastern District of New York charging current and former cargo handlers at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK Airport) with conspiracy to steal United States mail and money laundering.  Frantz Janvier, Machel Scarlett, Tracey Mellisa Sandy, Greguy Janvier, Jamila Malika Allen, and Melbourne Black were arrested earlier today and their initial appearances are scheduled for this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Viktor V. Pohorelsky at the United States Courthouse, 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, New York.

The charges were announced by Kelly T. Currie, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Phillip R. Bartlett, Postal Inspector in Charge of the United States Postal Inspection Service’s New York Field Office.

As detailed in the criminal complaint, in a conspiracy spanning over four years, former cargo handlers Frantz Janvier, Machel Scarlett, and Tracey Mellisa Sandy, agreed to steal mail from international flights arriving at and departing from Terminal One of JFK Airport, including Japan Airlines flights carrying mail from Japan.  The cargo handlers targeted mail they believed to contain foreign currency, including Japanese Yen, and then exchanged the foreign currency at currency exchange businesses at JFK Airport and at other financial institutions.  The complaint also charges Frantz Janvier, Greguy Janvier, Jamila Malika Allen, and Melbourne Black with laundering the proceeds of their theft.  As alleged in the complaint, the United States Postal Inspection Service estimates that the loss attributable to the mail theft is likely to exceed $250,000.

“As charged in the complaint, JFK Airport cargo handlers stole foreign currency from the mail and laundered tens of thousands of dollars in the proceeds of that theft through airport currency exchanges and other financial institutions,” stated Acting United States Attorney Currie. “Federal law enforcement authorities are committed to protecting the integrity of the mail, and we will hold accountable those who steal mail or attempt to profit from the theft of mail.”

“These defendants allegedly took advantage of the access given to them by their employer when they devised a scheme to steal US Mail from the cargo of airplanes at JFK and then lie to launder the proceeds for their personal gain,” said Inspector in Charge  Bartlett.  “Let there be no mistake, Postal Inspectors will use every resource to bring criminals to justice for crimes violating the sanctity of the US Postal Service.”. 

The charges in the complaint are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s General Crimes Section.  Assistant United States Attorney Ian C. Richardson is in charge of the prosecution.

The arrests are the latest in a series of recent investigations and prosecutions of airport cargo handlers by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the United States Postal Inspection Service:

In United States v. Hamilton, et al., Docket No. 15-CR-280 (DLI), five defendants, all cargo handlers at Terminal One of JFK Airport, pleaded guilty in June and July 2015 to charges that they stole U.S. letter mail between April 2014 and November 2014.  Evidence included four of the defendants being caught with a total of approximately 500 pieces of stolen letter mail stuffed in backpacks and in articles of clothing.

In United States v. Ali, et al., Docket No. 14-CR-484 (FB), two defendants, both cargo handlers at Terminal One of JFK Airport, pleaded guilty in March 2015 to charges that they stole U.S. letter mail between April 2014 and August 2014.  Evidence included the defendants being caught in August 2014 stashing a bag filled with stolen letter mail in a car parked at JFK Airport.

In United States v. Ramkhelawan, et al., Docket No. 13-CR-692 (DLI), five defendants, all cargo handlers at LaGuardia Airport, pleaded guilty and were sentenced in November 2014 and February and March 2015 on mail theft charges. The defendants stole dozens of high-value electronic devices from the mail, including smartphones, laptops, tablets, and video game consoles worth at least $10,000.

The Defendants:

FRANTZ JANVIER
Age:  32
Brooklyn, New York

MACHEL SCARLETT
Age:  37
Queens, New York

TRACEY MELLISA SANDY
Age:  45
Queens, New York

GREGUY JANVIER
Age:  34
Brooklyn, New York

JAMILA MALIKA ALLEN
Age:  24
Brooklyn, New York

MELBOURNE BLACK
Age:  50
Queens, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 15-M-777