How A Kansas Postmaster Embezzled Thousands Before Anyone Noticed
on May 27, 2026 • Updated May 27, 2026
On May 26, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Kansas, published a news release regarding a shocking guilty plea made by a former U.S. Postal Service (USPS) postmaster.
With her plea, she admitted to stealing several thousands of dollars, including money from customers of the post office.
Joyce L. Smith, 51, of Wichita, Kansas, pleaded guilty to one count of theft by a government employee.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Smith previously worked as the postmaster for a post office in Scott City, Kansas.
During a period of just over two years, going from January 2023 to February 2025, Smith embezzled approximately $57,400 from the USPS.
How The Postmaster Did It… And Almost Got Away With It
“An audit revealed Smith stole approximately $10,600 in cash payments from customers and issued herself approximately $3,700 in money orders,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated. “Smith also embezzled approximately $3,400 that customers paid for their post office boxes.”
Expounding upon how this was accomplished by Smith, the U.S. Attorney’s Office noted that some customers routinely made check payments for permits or mass mailings, and Smith would accept the checks and provide the services to customers… However, Smith would then proceed to not log the receipts into the records of the USPS.
As a result, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported that there are several outstanding amounts of money that the USPS cannot account for.
Checks that cannot be accounted for come to the following totals:
- $16,788 issued by the City of Scott City;
- $5,850 in checks issued by the Scott County Landfill; and
- $17,108 in checks issued by one of the community’s newspapers.
According to a plea agreement cited by The Wichita Eagle, Smith admitted that she “began to embezzle money to account for a ‘stock shortage’ discovered during a prior audit.”
These thefts were initially discovered in February of 2025 when an audit was conducted by the Scott City Post Office, which The Wichita Eagle reports led to the discovery of “missing cash deposits, misattribution of customer payments/checks and theft of money orders.”
U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser, for Kansas, said in the news release, “As postmaster, Joyce Smith likely thought her position would allow her to continue to fill her pockets with money that didn’t belong to her without getting caught or facing any consequences.”
Kriegshauser added, “Her behavior reminds us of why audits and other forms of government oversight of financial records are necessary.”
Commenting on this case, Special Agent in Charge Dennus Bishop, U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, Central Area Field Office, said, “This guilty plea represents the hard work and dedication by USPS OIG Special Agents working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring charges on this financial fraud investigation.”
Bishop went on to say, “The OIG, along with our law enforcement partners, remains committed to safeguarding the U.S. Mail and ensuring the accountability and integrity of U.S. Postal Service employees.”
While Smith has pleaded guilty, the USPS OIG continues investigating this case.
The case is also presently being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Smith.
Sentencing has not yet been conducted for Smith, but is scheduled for Aug. 20.
Watch a local news overview of the guilty plea, here:
This is a developing story.
