Northwest Iowa Man Charged With Postal Insurance Fraud

A northwest Iowa business owner has been charged with filing false claims with the U.S. Postal Service on insurance meant to cover damage to shipped packages.

A document filed Monday in U.S. District Court charges Jed Dykstra, of Sibley, with mail fraud.

Prosecutors say Dykstra owned a secondhand store called What Goes Around Comes Back Around.

They say he filed forms claiming pieces of artwork were damaged by the Postal Service during shipping. In reality, they say, Dykstra mailed the objects from himself to himself and falsified information about the pieces that he claimed were damaged to inflate their values. He obtained $5,000 last year. Another $5,000 claim in April was denied.

Dykstra has reached a sealed plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He’s due in court Nov. 26.