BOSTON — A South Shore postal worker has been charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the elderly to allegedly hire escorts and make improvements on his home, according to the Massachusetts United States Attorney‘s office.
Scott Kelley, 51, from Pembroke, has been charged with stealing $330,000 from elderly victims, according to prosecutors.
According to the indictment, Kelley allegedly intercepted approximately 1,950 packages between January 2019 and August 2023. These packages were suspected to have been mailed by scam victims, primarily elderly individuals, who were deceived into sending cash with false promises of lottery winnings.
The victims were persuaded to mail cash ranging from $1,400 to $19,100, believing they were paying fees or taxes required to claim their prizes. Kelley is accused of opening these packages and stealing the cash inside.
In addition to intercepting packages, Kelley allegedly used a postal employee’s keypad code to access an evidence vault and steal $7,000 in cash, later blaming a colleague for the theft. He is also accused of laundering nearly $340,000 of stolen cash through postal money orders and bank deposits, attempting to conceal his actions by listing relatives as purchasers of the money orders.
Kelley is also accused of using some of the stolen cash to pay for goods and services, including:
- $20,500 for the installation of a patio around his pool
- $20,500 for the installation of a patio around his pool
- $2,000 to have his pool heated
- $2,800 to have a granite countertop installed on his outdoor bar
- $2,800 to have a granite countertop installed on his outdoor bar
- $4,888 to have lights installed around his pool and outdoor bar;
- $4,300 for bar drinks and other expenses incurred during three Caribbean cruises; and
- $15,400 for sexual services provided by two escorts with whom he texted using a burner phone and whom he met during workdays.
According to prosecutors, Kelley was a team leader of the Mail Fraud Unit from 2015 until June 2022, which was responsible for investigating mail theft. In June 2022, Kelley became the Team Leader of the Mail Theft Unit, a position he held until August 2023.
Kelley faces 45 charges related to the thefts. Kelley was indicted on five counts of wire fraud, five counts of mail fraud, five counts of mail theft by a postal officer, one count of theft of government money, 23 counts of money laundering, one count of structuring to evade reporting requirements, and five counts of filing false tax returns.
If convicted, Kelley could face decades in prison.
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