A former California mail carrier could spend up to five years in federal prison after allegedly withholding more than 8,500 pieces of mail instead of delivering them.
Ronald Juckno, 53, of Fresno, was arrested Friday after being indicted in connection with the alleged mail obstruction. Juckno previously worked for the U.S. Postal Service.
Court records state that Juckno had more than 8,500 undelivered pieces of mail in his possession between August and September 2024, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
The withheld items reportedly included California Employment Development Department correspondence, financial and insurance documents, medical letters, tax records and utility bills. Officials said Juckno was placed on leave after the discovery and resigned from his mail carrier position soon afterward.
Juckno faces a potential maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, along with a fine of up to $250,000. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance in court today.
The case follows a 2022 prosecution involving Stephen Glover, a 33-year-old man from Palmdale. Glover was sentenced to 41 months in prison after attempting to obtain more than $250,000 in unemployment insurance benefits by filing false claims about COVID-related job losses and taking UI debit cards intended for people along his mail route.
In a separate 2016 case, 33 people were charged with stealing mail or failing to deliver roughly 50,000 pieces. Sherry Naomi Watanabe, of Los Angeles’ Sawtelle District, was found with more than 48,000 pieces of mail at her home, while another Los Angeles man was accused of trying to steal PayPal debit cards from the mail.
Most of those charged in the 2016 investigation were former USPS employees.
