Sep 24, 2024
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Virginia's mail madness continues as another local business comes to 8News with their mail struggles -- this time, contractors' checks are ending up in the wrong mailboxes. On Thursday, 8News reported that American Door and Glass in Henrico County had received checks from their customers already opened.  William Pangburn has been running his general contracting company, Savoy Properties, out of Chesterfield County for 22 years. He said he’s never had an issue like this before now.  According to Pangburn, checks he's been sending haven't been making it to their final destination. Similarly to American Door and Glass, his mail is going through the USPS distribution center in Sandston.   “Day to day, it’s consumed a ton of my time," Pangburn said. And time is money. Pangburn said it was four weeks ago when he got a call from one of his contractors.   “They said, 'Mr. Bill, I haven’t gotten a check from you and you’re always good pay,'" Pangburn said of that phone call.   IN HENRICO: 'I'm sure we're not the only ones': Henrico business says it has been getting opened mail for months Pangburn checked his accounts and, sure enough, the check had ended up in the hands of someone he didn't know in Cleveland, Ohio. Then, another check that ended up in Springfield, Texas -- again, to someone he didn't know. Just this past Friday, it happened twice more, with these checks both ending up in North Carolina. Pangburn said three of the checks, worth tens of thousands of dollars, were able to be electronically deposited -- but, luckily, his bank got the money back. He said he could've easily lost over $32,000. Pangburn first called the FBI, who directed him to the Secret Service, who directed him to the USPS Inspection Service, then authorities in Powhatan and Chesterfield -- where he filed reports. According to Pangburn, the bank was able to get copies of all of the checks and reported that they’d been washed. The scammer had changed the name on the ‘Pay To’ line.   Now, Pangburn is paying $25 a month for his bank to send him a list of checks for him to approve before they’re authorized every day.  “Every time you turn around, it seems like somebody’s in your pocket," he said.   USPS did not respond when 8News requested a comment. Last week, when we reached out about American Door and Glass, it said it could not confirm or deny if there are ongoing investigations at the Sandston branch.  Pangburn said his company could turn to electronic payments -- but he also doesn’t really trust that. So much so that he still uses a flip phone.  It's worth noting that opening someone else's mail is a federal crime, no matter what's inside the envelope. Are you experiencing mail-related issues like this one? You can submit a news tip about those USPS-related struggles to 8News reporter Allison Williams at [email protected].
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