Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA —  Accused by federal prosecutors as being the “instigator” and “leader” in a mail theft case, which included Apple computers, Congress Lepou is also alleged to have also stolen hundreds of cigarette cartons and cans of chewing tobacco as well as cellular phones — all sent through the US Postal Service, according to court filings with the federal court in Anchorage, Alaska.

Lepou, 29, was initially scheduled for sentencing next month; but it has been rescheduled to Apr. 11 as of yesterday. Lepou is one of six defendants — three of them Samoans — charged in the mail theft case following an indictment handed down in January 2018.

Other co-defendants are Paulo Maae, 24; Hubert Barte, 37; Harold Velicaria, 35; Rogelio ‘Roger’ Daquis,49; and Breadoflife ‘Presley’ Faiupu, 36 — who was sentenced last Friday (see yesterday's Samoa News for details.)

Lepou — charged with 16 counts under the federal indictment — and Faiupu were supervisors at RAVN Alaska, a regional airline contracted by the US Postal Service to deliver mail to remote community villages in Alaska.

According to prosecutors, the alleged theft occurred March 2015 to April 2017 whereby approximately 343 Apple computers went missing. The indictment outlined specific dates of when the computers — destined for remote schools — were stolen, as well as the defendants’ names.

Also cited in the indictment is how the defendants communicated with each other to find buyers for the computers. The indictment alleges that besides computers, Lepou — on Apr. 13, 2017 — possessed more than 667 cartons of cigarettes, 305 cans of chewing tobacco, and eight prepaid cellular phones (with an approximate total value of $109,000) — all allegedly stolen from the mail.

Late last year, under a plea agreement, Lepou pled guilty to one count each of  conspiracy, theft of mail, and possession of stolen mail. The remaining 13 counts under the indictment were dismissed.

With his guilty plea, Lepou admitted that on several occasions, he and Faiupu would pick up the mail from the USPS facility using the RAVN truck, which was then driven to the employee parking lot where they would steal Apple computers and load them into their personal vehicles.

Lepou and Faiupu recruited their co-defendants to help find buyers for the stolen Apple computers, and the pair received cash in return.

According to the agreement, Faiupu and Lepou stole about 60 Apple computers.

Lepou also stole cartons of cigarettes and cellular phones.

Daquis assisted Lepou in selling the cigarettes while Maae assisted Lepou in selling both the cigarettes and cellular phones.

An example of the execution of conspiracy, according to the plea agreement, occurred on August 28, 2016, when Lepou and Faiupu stole 16 Apple laptop computers in a shipment from Apple to a school district.  Daquis, Maae, Barte, and Velicaria all assisted Lepou and Faiupu in finding buyers for the stolen computers, retail valued at $1,500 each.

“The total approximate retail value of stolen Apple computers attributable to Lepou as a leader of the conspiracy to steal and sell Apple computers is $90,000,” the agreement says.

Prosecutors said in court documents that the total approximate retail value of the tobacco products Lepou stole from the mail is $ 106,880 and the total approximate value of the cell phones he stole is $2,263. The total loss from Lepou's crimes is approximately $199,143, which is also the total amount of restitution prosecutors are asking to impose on him.

Calculation of sentencing, outlined in the plea agreement, shows 5 years imprisonment for each count, along with a fine of $250,000 for each count.