Updated: September 9, 2014 – Abra K. Albrecht, 31, of Carrollton, Illinois, has pleaded guilty to the theft of a $500 debit card from the mail. Prosecutors said Albrecht was caught after she used the stolen card and was identified from surveillance video. Albrecht will be sentenced Jan. 12 at the federal courthouse in East St. Louis. .

Albrecht, 31, of Carrollton, Illinois, was charged on May 21, 2014, for theft of United States Mail by a postal employee in an Indictment returned by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in East St. Louis, IL, Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today.

The indictment alleges that in February 2014, Albrecht, who was at the time working as a postal employee, stole a debit card that had been placed in the mail to be delivered to another person. The indictment further alleges that Albrecht converted the debit card to her own use. The mail theft charge carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to 3 years of supervised release.

An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge and is entitled to a fair trial at which the Government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case was investigated by agents of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ranley R. Killian