Hawaiian Gardens : Motive Uncertain in Mail Scam Traced to Postal Box

A woman living in the Los Angeles area is the prime suspect in a postal scam in which fraudulent change-of-address forms were used to divert mail from three states to a Hawaiian Gardens post office box.

The motive behind the fraud is not known since no one has tried to pick up the mail in order to cash checks or use credit card numbers, said Donald Obritsch of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Pasadena. The woman has not been arrested and inspectors declined to release her hame. If an arrest is made, the suspect could face fines and up to 10 years in prison for making false statements on a postal form and for obstructing mail delivery.

Chnge-of-address forms, all with the names of different people on them, were sent to post offices in Montana, Idaho and Hawaii. The case cane to light when the postal patrons whose names were used on the forms complained to their local postal officials that they were not receiving their mail.