A former U.S. Postal employee received an 18-month federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to stealing mail.

U.S. District Court Judge Liles C. Burke sentenced Zachary Rashad Humphrey, 31, of Huntsville, to be followed by three years supervised release.

Humphrey pleaded guilty to receipt of stolen mail matter and theft of mail by a postal employee last November.

U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona, United States Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick M. Davis, and U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Ulrich announced the sentence today.

Prosecutors said Humphrey, while working a mail carrier, stole checks totaling more than $40,000 between March and April 2022 from his route and sold them on the dark web.

“Public servants who abuse their positions of trust to personally enrich themselves face serious consequences, including jail time,” Escalona said. “I am grateful for the collaboration between federal law enforcement and the Huntsville Police Department to apprehend this defendant and bring him to justice.”

The U.S. Secret Service and the Postal Service Office of Inspector General investigated the case, with assistance from the Huntsville Police Department.