American Airlines will pay $22 million to settle mail case

American Airlines will pay $22.1 million to settle allegations it falsified times when it handed off mail, including items sent to U.S. soldiers stationed abroad.

The Justice Department said Tuesday that American picked up mail for the U.S. Postal Service at six locations in the U.S., and Defense Department and State Department locations overseas.

American transferred the mail to foreign postal agencies or other recipients, then submitted electronic scans of bins to show deliveries were made correctly and on time.

American says the allegations are several years old and it has invested in new equipment and procedures to handle the mail.

In 2016, American disclosed it was under investigation regarding international-mail contracts from 2009 and 2011 .

Last year, British Airways and Spain’s Iberia paid $5.8 million to settle similar allegations.