East Orange Man Sentenced to 51 Months for Role in Mail-Theft Bank Fraud Conspiracy

Baba Diakite's involvement in a scheme targeting U.S. mail led to significant losses for financial institutions.

An Essex County man, Baba Diakite, 23, of East Orange, New Jersey, was sentenced to 51 months in prison for his involvement in a bank fraud conspiracy involving the theft of checks from the U.S. mail, according to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger. Diakite had previously pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, who imposed the sentence in Newark federal court.

The conspiracy, which spanned from January 2020 to March 2022, involved Diakite and his co-conspirators stealing checks from mail collection receptacles across New Jersey. Using stolen U.S. Postal Service keys, they accessed and removed envelopes containing checks. These stolen checks were either sold to third parties or altered and deposited into bank accounts for fraudulent withdrawals. Diakite admitted that his actions caused a loss between $550,000 and $1.5 million.

Diakite's co-conspirator, Nasir Johnson, was previously sentenced to 49 months in prison for related charges, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit mail theft, and possessing stolen mail, as well as theft of a U.S. Postal Service key.

In addition to the prison term, Diakite was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

The investigation leading to these convictions involved multiple federal agencies. U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited the work of postal inspectors from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, special agents from the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. The government’s case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey S. Smith of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.