(WTTW News)

A former Chicago postal worker is facing federal charges after she allegedly stole a trio of stimulus checks while delivering mail along her route last year.

Olivia Bryant, 33, has pleaded not guilty during her arraignment this week in federal court in Chicago after she was charged with three counts of theft from the U.S. mail.

According to an indictment, Bryant stole three pieces of mail addressed to other people while working her delivery route in March 2021.The federal government began issuing a third round of stimulus payments that same month during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During Bryant’s arraignment Monday, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Malgorzata Tracz Kozaka alleged that the stolen mail contained government stimulus checks.

Bryant faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison on each of the three counts she’s charged with. She is due back in court for a status hearing May 13.

Contact Matt Masterson:@ByMattMasterson |[email protected]| (773) 509-5431