Postal Employee Admits Stealing Rebates from Mail

ST. LOUIS - A former U.S. Postal Service mail carrier on Monday admitted stealing rebates from mail intended for residents of north-central Missouri.

Dawn Dowling, 59, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one felony count of embezzlement of mail by a Postal Service employee. Dowling admitted that from July 2023 to August 2023, she took rebates issued by the home improvement store Menards from the mail. Dowling was a rural carrier associate assigned to routes in central Missouri including the areas of Moberly, Huntsville, Cairo, Higbee, Jacksonville and Excello.

In all, Dowling took a total of at least $1,131 in rebates from at least 20 customers. She then spent them or caused them to be spent in Menards stores in Missouri and Illinois.

Dowling is scheduled to be sentenced on March 4, 2025. The charge is punishable by up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.

The U.S. Postal Service - Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf is prosecuting the case.