Former Postal Service Employee Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy And Theft Of The Mail

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Saravy Yem, 30, of Stockton, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy and theft of the mail by a postal employee, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, Yem was an employee of the Postal Service at a bulk mail processing facility in West Sacramento from 2010 to 2011. Over the course of approximately a year, Yem and another postal employee, co-defendant Angel Pantoja‑Lopez, stole approximately 384 smart phones being shipped by a cellular phone service provider to its customers around the country. The defendants would sell the stolen phones for cash in the greater Sacramento area.

This case was the product of an investigation by the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew G. Morris is prosecuting the case.

Pantoja-Lopez was sentenced on May 22, 2014, to two years and four months in prison and two additional months of home detention, and to pay $6,514 in restitution to postal customers who lost money because of his crimes.

Yem is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Troy L. Nunley on February 5, 2015. Yem faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.