WASHINGTON, D.C. (WDCW) – A former United States Postal Service (USPS) worker has been charged with stealing checks from the mail — a scheme that netted him nearly $1.7 million over the course of 18 months.

In a news release issued Friday, the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office said Hachikosela Muchimba, 43, of Washington, D.C., was charged with mail theft and bank fraud.

Muchimba was accused of depositing checks from the mail into his own bank account between October 2021 and March 2023.

Michimba had been working at a D.C. branch of the United States Postal Service since 2020. He was placed on off-duty status in March, following the launch of a federal investigation.

Muchimba’s scheme involved the removal of the payee’s name from the checks, after which he would instead write his own name. Many of the checks were U.S. Treasury checks, and the complaint said that Muchimba was spotted on bank surveillance cameras taking the money out of ATM machines.

The checks Muchimba deposited between Oct. 2021 and March 2023 totaled $1,697,909.52.

Muchimba faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for bank fraud, and 5 years for mail fraud, according to the D.C. District Attorney’s Office.