Five U.S. Postal employees from the Pee Dee have been charged in the first wave of indictments aimed to root out fraud by USPS workers.

United States Attorney Bill Nettles says the workers fraudulently claimed unemployment benefits.

Diana Brown, 49, of Marion, Keisha Weaver, 34, of Pamplico were each charged in a 1-count Indictment with theft from the U.S. Government.

Corey Baker, 41, of Lake City, Tracy Timmons, 40, of Hemingway, and Carmen Robertson, 42, of Hartsville were all charged in a 2-count Indictment with theft from the United States government.

"These indictments represent a collaborative effort between the South Carolina Employment Securities Commission, the Department of Labor Inspector General, and the Postal Service's Office of Inspector General (OIG)," said Joanne Yarbrough, Special Agent in Charge of the OIG's regional office.

She added, "The Postal Service prides itself in its dedicated and professional employees and their ability to provide the service our customers have come to expect. The employees identified today are a very small percentage of the thousands of South Carolina postal workers entrusted with processing and delivering the public's letters and parcels every day."

Each of the five indicted face up to 10 years in prison.