An Arkansas woman contracted to provide postal services and an accomplice are accused of faking an armed robbery to steal $16,000 in money orders and cash from her workplace, according to police.
The worker, 32-year-old Kristy Holliday, and 32-year-old Russell Clint Basinger are being held pending federal charges in the theft, records show.
An armed man was initially reported to have entered a contract postal unit in Fairfield Bay that provided U.S. Postal Service services and products, restraining the on-duty employee as he robbed the business, a news release states.
The Fairfield Bay Police Department said it later learned that the worker and the reported assailant, Basinger, appeared to have worked together to coordinate the robbery.
“The investigation revealed that no armed robbery took place, but instead, was an attempt to mislead authorities as to the true nature of the theft,” according to the release.
Police said information and evidence led to the discovery of most of the money orders as well as specialized machinery to imprint the form of payment. Also recovered were stolen cash and stamps.
A request for additional information from the police department was not immediately returned Friday afternoon.
Fairfield Bay, a town of around 2,300 residents, is about 83 miles north of Little Rock in Cleburne and Van Buren counties.
CORRECTION: Because of incorrect information from police, an earlier version of this story misidentified the type of business and title of the employee. Kristy Holliday worked as a contracted worker who sold U.S. Postal Service products and services at a business, according to a spokesman.