A postal service employee in Elizabeth has admitted to stealing numerous cellphones sent in the mail that passed through the United States Post Office where she was employed.

Nyasia Hutchinson, 26, of Jersey City, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of mail by a postal employee.

According to documents filed in the case, and statements made in court, from May 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2018, another employee provided Hutchinson with 15 to 20 stolen cellphones that the employee had taken out of packages at the EPO that had been mailed to a Hillside business.

Hutchinson admitted she taped up empty packages and placed them back in the mail stream after cellphones had been removed.  

Hutchinson later sold the stolen iPhones, approximately valued at $12,000, keeping the sales proceeds for herself.

She faces five years in prison.