A Houston postal worker accused of stealing school property-tax cheques from the mail is due back in court on December 7, after a court filing on Monday, November 2 set the next date in a case that investigators say sits inside a far wider theft investigation: more than 220 property-tax cheques, worth over $4 million in total, were allegedly compromised after being mailed to the Spring Branch Independent School District in Houston, Texas.
Source: Wealth of Geeks (court records)
Eurey Dewayne Smith, 33, was arrested on October 27 after finishing his shift at a U.S. Postal Service facility on Town and Country Way in Houston, according to KPRC 2 News. He faces a Texas state jail felony charge of mail theft. A sworn criminal complaint alleges that he took mail containing cheques with the intent to facilitate forgery. Smith has not been convicted of any offence in this case, and the allegations against him remain allegations to be tested in court.
What investigators say they found in the Range Rover
After Smith finished work on the evening of Tuesday, October 27, investigators executed a search warrant on his Range Rover SUV in the employee parking lot, according to court records reviewed by KPRC 2. They reported finding 12 pieces of first-class mail, 11 of them addressed to the Spring Branch ISD Tax Assessor-Collector. Five of the envelopes had allegedly been opened and contained cheques payable to the school district.
Smith worked at the same postal facility where Spring Branch ISD receives its mailed tax payments through a post office box, according to the records. Prosecutors say the wider investigation identified more than 220 compromised property-tax cheques totalling over $4 million. That $4 million figure is the value of cheques investigators say were compromised across the whole investigation — it is not a court finding that Smith personally stole that amount. The sworn Harris County complaint, dated October 28, accuses Smith of taking mail from fewer than 10 addressees, with intent to steal negotiable instruments and facilitate forgery.
Cheques disappearing since January
According to KPRC 2's reporting of the court records, the cheques began disappearing from the mail in January 2026, before allegedly being altered and fraudulently deposited. The investigation was led by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and Spring Branch ISD also worked with the Memorial Villages Police Department. ABC13 (KTRK) in Houston has also reported the arrest, and USPS confirmed to ABC13 that Smith remained an employee after his arrest but was no longer performing postal duties.
Source: KPRC 2 via Lake Conroe News
Bail, conditions and the court file
Prosecutors requested bail of $1 million. The magistrate instead set bail at $150,000, with conditions, and rejected a personal bond; a $150,000 surety bond was filed on October 29, according to the Harris County District Clerk records in the 184th District Court, cause number 198620601010. A signed pretrial supervision order dated October 28 prohibits Smith from going to, or within 200 feet of, the post office at 10505 Town and Country Way in Houston.
Accused: Eurey Dewayne Smith, 33, USPS employee, Houston. Charge: state jail felony mail theft (alleged). Court: Harris County 184th District Court, cause 198620601010. Next court date: December 7, 2026, 8:30 a.m., set by a case reset form filed November 2.
Prosecutors told the court Smith could face additional, more serious charges as investigators continue examining the payments, according to the court-records reporting. Law enforcement has likewise said Smith is expected to face additional charges. No additional charges had been announced as of Monday's filing.
Why this matters beyond one school district
Property-tax payments are among the largest cheques many households and businesses mail each year, and Spring Branch ISD's tax office collects for a large district in west Houston. Investigators say the pattern here — cheques mailed to a single tax office going missing over months, then allegedly being altered and deposited — is exactly the kind of mail-theft scheme postal inspectors warn about nationally. Anyone who mailed a tax cheque to Spring Branch ISD this year and whose payment was never credited should check their bank records and contact the district's tax office and investigators, as the more than 220 reported victims in this case did.
For Houston's Punjabi and South Asian homeowners and business owners — many of whom pay property taxes by mailed cheque in Harris County — the case is a practical warning: track mailed cheques, confirm the payee name and amount when the cheque clears, and consider hand-delivery or electronic payment for large tax cheques while the investigation continues.
What happens next
Smith's next court proceeding is scheduled for December 7, 2026, at 8:30 a.m., according to the case reset form filed on November 2 in the 184th District Court. Investigators from the USPS Office of Inspector General are continuing to examine the compromised cheques, and prosecutors have told the court further charges are possible. Awaaz Punjab will follow the December hearing and any additional charges.