No longer should you send money to the federal facility that your family member/friend is locked up at. It should all now be sent to a central location.This facility is called the Federal Bureao of Prisons" national lockbox.In the future, if you wish to send funds to an inmate in the federal prisons you must send the money to the following address:Federal Bureau of Prisons.........inmates name..........inmates register number..........PO BOX 800073..........Marietta, Georgia 30068-8073. Inmates name and registry number must be on all money orders. Never send anything else but money orders to this address, all other mail must be sent to the same address you have been sending them. If you send anything other than a US Postal money order it could take up to 2 weeks to be posted to the inmates account, US postal orders are posted the day they are recieved.Remember, all letters pictures etc should be mailed directly to the instution where the inmate is housed.Steve&kids

Thanks for letting us know. I will be sure to note this down for June. How did you find out about it?
Toni
P.S. I answered your question in the Here to Hear you forum about Sara's graduation gift! :-)

I recieved a letter from the from The Bureau of prisons today informing me of this change.I saw your answer to your daughters graduation gift, great choice!!!!!!! Steve&kids

Is that also for California ? Eddie is in USP Lompoc ?

WHEN DOES THIS START. IM IN THE PROCESS OF BUILDING A WEBSITE TO SEND MONEY TO FEDERAL INMATES STARTING WITH NEW YORK. IVE BEEN SENDING MONEY TO MY BROTHER FOR 10 YEARS AND I HAVENT HEARD ANYTHING YET.

Wow, thanks Steve. This is the first I have heard of it also.

Thanks for the information, Steve. I was just going to send money to my son.

Un abrazo,
Andrés

According to the letter i recieved it is for all Federal inmates in prison, and it had already started. Steve&kids

I suspected that this would happen.

Billy's mom sent a money order directly to him at the first of the week, and he had no problem getting it. I would think that Billy would have told us about it, if we had to send it to the other place.

I called the Federal Bureau of Prisons and they will be sending a letter to anyone that sends money to a federal inmate and inform them that they have accepted the money order sent to the prisoner, but that in the future all money orders sgould be sent to the Georgia address.Steve

Well, Billy will just have to be on his own because it's rediculous for me to send money to Georgia when Billy is only 15 MINUTES away from me.

Steve,
I just got off the phone with the B.O.P. and they are saying that they know nothing at all about this. Do you have a copy of the physical letter that was sent to you? I think they definitely would like a copy. Also, if you have a scanner, could you please scan a copy and either post it in this thread or email it to me?
Thanks,
David

David, I have a scanner, exactly how do I put it in this thread. I have the letter and the envelope, from the Bureau of prisons. Steve

Yes, I do believe it's a scam....a post from another group that I'm a member of says that the US Postal Inspection Services is looking into this too.

David, this is note a scam. I just called FMC Carswell, the Fed Pen where my wife is located, and they verified it. The number to FMC Carswell is 1-817-782-4002.I would like to send the original letter to you with the envelope it came in and after you recieve it please post it here so that everyone will know that this was not a scam or bullshit.I would not have posted it had it been such! Where would I send this letter at to get to you?Thanks......... Steve

Steve,
I am very sorry if I sounded like I was questioning you personally. I just don't understand why people at the B.O.P. that I have called have said they have heard nothing about it.
I definitely will call and look into it some more.
My apologies for sounding the way I have. I definitely didn't mean anything against you my friend.
David

No bad feelings here David, the kids and I think you are kinda cool! I can understand people being cautious about sending their hard earned money to a new address. From what I understand this is a new policy.The name of the person in charge of the funds where Stephanie is at is Sheila Sweet, she should be in her office from 8 to 4 or so central time. For any of you who question this keep sending your money to the same address as you were, they are still accepting it there for the time being. My understanding is this new policy is just to make it easier to post these funds in the inmates trust accounts.A central location if you will. Also, you dont have to send US Postal money orders. You can send checks or whatever,"no cash" but they will withhold posting the money until the check clears, which can take up to two weeks to clear. A US Postal money is US funds, it a US Fed Pen, they are posted that day. Sorry if this has caused anyone a headache, it was only meant to help.Steve&kids

Steve---I'm sure no one thinks you meant any harm--you were just trying to share information--we appreciate that. I'm a cautious person and these days more so--I really check things out! As I told David--BOP Washington is looking into this matter as is the Southeast Region. I think we're all doing our best to be supportive of the people we love and survive.

Take care,
Molly

Molly, I understand. By the way, the pic you have next to your name, is cool. I raise Rotts here. Steve

Hey Steve--We have a Rottweiler--He's 11 years old, his name is Zachary--they are wonderful dogs! I wouldn't trade him for the world--he does miss his dad though...We keep Zachary close as we've endured a lot of discrimination--owning a Rottweiler does have its downside.....sigh

Take care,
Molly

Steve, I too am sorry if I've said anything to offend you. I'm just aggravated at the whole situation. Billy's only 15 minutes from me and it's just awful to send money all the way to Georgia when HE'S so close. When Billy calls, I'll ask if he's heard anything. If I call the prison, it's like getting blood from a turnip.

Bill & Denise: I suppose I am very lucky. the prison Stephanie is at is not at all like the ones I read about on here. If I call the prison I always get answers to my questions unless they are doing count, and then they politely ask me to call back in a few.When we have visited they seem to go out of their way to be nice.Steve&kids

This subject had came up about 6 months ago. We all thought it was a scam had us all running around.
From what I recall...it came out to be only a couple of the locations that house females that this was being changed.

Mabey those first locations were just a trial...and they will be adding all locations now or soon!
Face it...BOP would earn more interest on "OUR" money if they have it in 1 HUGE account instead of scattered all over! lol

Diane

Diane, I do believe that you hit the nail on the head. All of it in one place earns alot more interest. So far my husband hasn't heard anything about sending funds to Georgia. He says if and when they apply it they'll have a meeting to let the guys know, as well as post it on the board. So guess at this point it's wait and see.

Has anyone done the math on the inmate "trust" funds in the BOP alone? The interest they pull is HUGE! Inmate's don't earn interest at all. This is getting off topic. Maybe we should start a new thread in the Federal Forum?

MR FED-X, I MAILED THE LETTER AND THE ENVELOPE IT CAME IN TO YOU TODAY. WHEN YOU GET IT CHECK IT OUT AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.I REALLY THINK ITS REAL.STEVE&KIDS

A group I belong to BOP watch states this is probably a scam and should now be under investigation in Georgia. Suggestion is not send money anywhere until loved one receives memorandum that this is to be done.

I am not sending my son's money anywhere other than the facility he is in until he notifies me to do so.

Brenda

Pardon me if I may sound a bit rude, because I really dont mean to. As noted at the beginning of this post David"AKA Fed-X", said to check with each institution before sending money and that he was checking it out. Pretty good advice.No one wants to send money to a place if they dont think that it will get to their loved one, which probably really needs the money. David is really on top of all prison related things.I am positive that the moment that he can confirm or not confirm this he will post it for all to see. This may be under investigation by other prison groups, thats probably true.But as far as the Federal BOP, it is not. The address I gave is a federal address for the lockbox. This is not a scam, I am not trying to pull something over on anybody, and the official letter confirming this has been sent to David and he should recieve it by Monday or Tuesday at the latest. Steve

[Fed-X] I did receive this information and it appears to be legit. I thought I responded earlier to this but apparently not. I believe this is a test program the B.O.P. is running at this institution for starters and has plans in the future to expand this to cover other institutions.

Steve, I sent money less than a week ago and some questionable pictures came back to me but no letter. I called the facility in Va. and asked them about it, they seemed to not know. I am just as confused about this as eveyone else is. I also checked with FedCure and they said some prisons are going to this.

my fiancee' is in Leavenworth USP and the prison is still accepting money orders right there at the facility. They have no knowledge of sending money orders to the BOP in Georgia or anywhere else. I sent a money order last week and my fiancee' received it last week with no problems. I am in Louisiana and he is in Kansas, several hours away.

OTISVILLE FCI HAS NO KNOWLEDGE OF THIS PRACTICE EITHER. IT WOULD MAKE SENCE THAT ALL THE FACILITIES WOULD KNOW WHATS GONG ON BEING THAT THIER ALL FEDERAL. BUT THE MERE FACT THAT IT WOULD SENCE MEANS IT ALL THE MORE LIKELY THAT ALL THE FACILITIES DONT KNOW WHATS GOING ON.

According to everything I have read, the information received re: change in sending money to federal inmates is indeed a SCAM. I am sending a pm to the moderator with the link to the info I've read at BOP Watch.

I can not speak for any other prisons except for the prison that Stephanie is at. It is called FMC Carswell, and it is a federal prison in FT Worth texas. I recieved that letter from her prison several weeks ago and it said to start sending her money to the georgia address, and that is where we now send it,and it has been credited to her account with not a problem at all. It takes about 4 days to get on her account compared to about 3 when we send use to send it to her prison.I keep getting all these PMs from other members here on PTO saying it is a scam.As far as Stephanie and the money we send, it is not. Toni is suppose to turn herself into Carswell Monday morning, why dont one of you moderators have her write you a letter after she turns herself in and let her tell you whether or not the georgia address is where they tell her to have her loved ones send the money, and that way we can put this post to bed. Steve&kids

Steve,
Good idea. I will be sure to do that in my first letter or phone call to Sara and she can post it.
Since Stephanie is receiving her money that way I am sure that is what they will tell me also.
Thanks for taking the time to post this and let everyone know.
I also appreciate all the other help that you have given me.
I hope that you will keep in touch!
Toni

Tonis daughter Sara has verified my post. To those of you who doubted this, I understand. But to those few who sent me a rude email to my personel email account telling me I was running a scam, I have no use for you. Steve

Steve--I'm glad this checked out. I think the lesson here is that we all need to verify information we receive. It was good of you to share what you learned--it was up to us to see if it applied to us as individuals. I am sorry people felt the need to take you to task. As you know--I was someone who checked into this and had my doubts (this still does not apply to the institution where my husband is)--however, I requested David to post an advisory. I would still continue to be vigiliant, but let's not shoot the messenger.

Thanks Steve and take care,
Molly

Steve, I am sorry to post to this and keep it alive, but I wanted to say that I believe they will eventually go to this at all facilities, but are just taking it a few at at time. You are not the first person to have to send the money to Atlanta.

Steve and the kids, sorry to inform but that information that you are telling people is not true!!!!! so stop it before this gets out of hand. who ever owns that box will be in trouble. trust me!!!!

LJ20,
I was skeptical myself but I have the paperwork that he is speaking about and spoke to staff at that unit and they substantiate these claims. We called Washington about it and they didn't know anything.
If you could check into it further, it would be great to hear what you find out because it has been a confusing issue, to say the least.
One of our members that self-surrendered to Carswell has also confirmed this.

David

from my understanding the FBI is looking into this. But i will get back to you on this. My institution knows nothing about this. but i do know this someone is in big trouble!!!LOL my reason for this because know other facility is doing this.

Ok, dont really know what to say to you LJ20, but what FBI is looking into this? Its not the United States F.B.I., and there is no US mail investigation into it either. This is a real post, not a scam, and it has been verified by other that have reported to Carswell after I posted it. Steve&kids

First of all, I want to apologize to Steve&kids. I found out today through the mail dept. at my institution that there are some institutions that have inmates funds sent to Georgia or DC. Most institutions are not doing this. This is a sort of "experiment" to see if it works. About 90% of the institutions are NOT doing this. If this system does seem to work, then all institutions will switch to this practice. Most likely if this happens, everything would go through DC. They are still telling people to continue sending money wherever their institution requires them to, whether it be to DC, Georgia or directly to whatever institution the inmate is at. As for me saying the FBI was looking into this... I know of many ongoing scams and one of them being somewhat related to this. The FBI is looking into these scams, whether it be linked directly to this exact situation or not. I do receive information regarding these types of scams and other information as a federal officer. The information Steve&kids gave is correct as far as Stephanie's institution.

Thank you LJ20. I know nothing of other Federal Prisons except for the one that Stephanie is at. The letter we recieved telling us to start sending the money to Georgia was a regular Federal Bureau of Prison letter.Steve&kids

Originally posted by Steve&kids
No longer should you send money to the federal facility that your family member/friend is locked up at. It should all now be sent to a central location.This facility is called the Federal Bureao of Prisons" national lockbox.In the future, if you wish to send funds to an inmate in the federal prisons you must send the money to the following address:Federal Bureau of Prisons.........inmates name..........inmates register number..........PO BOX 800073..........Marietta, Georgia 30068-8073. Inmates name and registry number must be on all money orders. Never send anything else but money orders to this address, all other mail must be sent to the same address you have been sending them. If you send anything other than a US Postal money order it could take up to 2 weeks to be posted to the inmates account, US postal orders are posted the day they are recieved.Remember, all letters pictures etc should be mailed directly to the instution where the inmate is housed.Steve&kids is this for texas federal too?

is this for texas prisons too (federal)

This is for Carswell Federal located in Texas but not for the others. (That I have heard of yet)

Maybe we can get together and find out what institutions are effected by this..

Face it people its the federal government. They are ALWAYS screwing something up. Its a case of one hand not knowing where the other hand is.

:) Hello Friends - The letter I reseived states to send the money to an Iowa Address. Seems there are different locations.........

Keeping A Higher Faith,

CoralNo longer should you send money to the federal facility that your family member/friend is locked up at. It should all now be sent to a central location.This facility is called the Federal Bureao of Prisons" national lockbox.In the future, if you wish to send funds to an inmate in the federal prisons you must send the money to the following address:Federal Bureau of Prisons.........inmates name..........inmates register number..........PO BOX 800073..........Marietta, Georgia 30068-8073. Inmates name and registry number must be on all money orders. Never send anything else but money orders to this address, all other mail must be sent to the same address you have been sending them. If you send anything other than a US Postal money order it could take up to 2 weeks to be posted to the inmates account, US postal orders are posted the day they are recieved.Remember, all letters pictures etc should be mailed directly to the instution where the inmate is housed.Steve&kids

I don't believe its a scam, my boyfriend also has told me about this change. He is sending me the information where I need to mail future money orders. He said they are accepting the money there for now, but only until Nov 23.

There is a BOP administrative rule which has been finalized, which is effective in November (I believe I recall that date correctly) changing their policy to having a central location to send inmate funds. Following that, my husband sent me, this week, a "Notice to All Inmates" which he received at FCI Sheridan from the prison staff, which gives instructions on how to send the inmate funds, to a "National Lockbox" in Des Moines, Iowa. I expect that the BOP is slowing implementing this at various prisons and the inmates at the facilities will receive this notice as their faciilty moves to that process. The one for FCI Sheridan is effective November 15, 2004. The beneficiary from this change will be the U.S. Postal Service because we now have to send the money one place and mail a letter to the inmate separately, telling him/her that funds have been sent. Double postage. Zelda