TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A month after a crook stole a check they mailed from their local post office, changed the amount and cashed it, Michael Musetta and his wife finally have their money back.
It took a little Better Call Behnken intervention to get results. Their bank, First Horizon, has now deposited the entire $4,200 back into their account.
“This is all I wanted in the first place,” Musetta said. “It’s the right thing to do.”
Musetta and his wife take precautions to keep their money safe and they pay their bills with checks they hand-deliver to their local post office in West Tampa. But the check they sent in April to Florida Blue never made it to the insurance company.
The carbon copy of the check shows it was made out to Florida Blue on April 22 for $28. A copy of the cashed check that their bank gave them shows a stranger cashed it for $4,200. The United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, is investigating.
Meanwhile, two days after our Better Call Behnken, First Horizon deposited every penny back into their account.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General said it is aware of this incident and it is under review. The office sent this statement and information for the public:
“The U.S. Postal Service employs more than 625,000 employees and is the largest civilian federal workforce in the country. This type of alleged behavior within the Postal Service is not tolerated and the overwhelming majority of Postal Service employees, which serve the public, are honest, hardworking, and trustworthy individuals who would never consider engaging in any type of criminal behavior.“
If you suspect any wrongdoing by U.S. Postal Service employees, submit a Hotline Complaint online.
“Hopefully they can track this down because I thought it was really strange when they told my wife he was also investigating another check made payable to Florida Blue,” Musetta said. “How they could get ahold of the check, I have no idea, but somebody was.”
A spokesperson for Florida Blue sent this statement:
“Providing our members with high-quality service is a top priority and we offer them a variety of convenient options to submit their payments including online or through our mobile app, in person, and by calling in. We encourage electronic submissions as a safe and quick option for payment. For more information about member payment options, please visit https://www.floridablue.com/answers/using-your-coverage/making-a-payment. While we cannot comment on a specific member’s situation due to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy concerns, or ongoing investigations, we do take allegations of fraud very seriously and take active steps to quickly address any issues we may become aware of that could be of impact to members, providers, or our organization.”
