Former U.S. Postal Service Employee From Silver City Sentenced to Probation for Falsefying Postal Records

ALBUQUERQUE – Gabriel Arsola, 40, of Silver City, N.M., was sentenced today to three years of probation for making false and fictitious entries on U.S. Postal Service forms.  Arsola also was ordered to pay $10,834.68 in restitution to the U.S. Postal Service.

Arsola was indicted in Dec. 2013, and charged with 56 counts of making false entries and reports on U.S. Postal Service forms in order to conceal a scheme to defraud the U.S. Postal Service.  According to the indictment, between Aug. 20, 2012 and Dec. 7, 2012, Arsola made false and fictitious entries on the forms regarding the value of the postage stamps and bubble-wrap sold at the Silver City Post Office to understate the amount of funds received by the Post Office.  During that time period, Arsola was employed as a sales and service associate at the Silver City Post Office.

On April 15, 2014, Arsola pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment and admitted to the full scope of criminal conduct charged in the 56-count indictment as well as other criminal conduct.  In his plea agreement, Arsola admitted that between July 2011 and Dec. 2012, he falsified postal records to conceal that he was stealing money from the U.S. Postal Service.  Arsola admitted selling full books of stamps to customers but only scanning single stamps and recording the sale of single stamp transactions.  In his plea agreement, Arsola agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $10,834.68 to the U.S. Postal Service.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec.