The company claims that similar rental delivery services Netflix and Blockbuster receive preferential treatment when it comes to the mailroom processing of their DVD’s and have gone as far to file an statistic-filled official complaint with the USPS.

The rental companies’ claim is summed up by WebProNews as such:

“Gamefly mails 590,000 video games monthly, and between one and two percent of those games is broken in transit or stolen along the way… at $50 per game that could be upwards of $600,000 lost in a month…

According to the complaint, the investigation also found that competitors Blockbuster and Netflix DVDs were manually removed from bulk mail and not processed through machines. This led to the company’s allegations of discriminatory treatment.”

Adding insult to injury, according to GamePolitics, a whopping 19 postal workers have been arrested for stealing games that flow through the mailroom.  Shame on you! Unless you stole this one, and in said case, FAIL.

Take a look at the official PDF GameFly filing here.

Authorities allege that Gerald J. Sadkowski, 30, of Watertown, and Brian M. Faulkner, 37, of Lynn, sold the pain killer illegally both on postal property and while out on their routes as postal employees.

The federal complaint says this took place between July and October.

If convicted on these charges, they face up to 20 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and a $1 million fine.

According to papers unsealed in Detroit, the electronic highwaymen, facing a 41-count indictment, are a geographical grab bag, ranging from Queen Creek, Calif. to Hong Kong to Russia.

One of the alleged scams includes cooked up pump and dump stock schemes for Chinese corporations hungry to score First World dough. In these cases, Americans are told stocks are going to go up, people buy up the stock, and in the end only the company makes money.

According to U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Murphy, it was, “one of the largest illegal spamming and fraud operations in the country.”

The indictment is the culmination of the three-year investigation, in which the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and even the Postal Service, all assisted. Not a bad coup for old snail mail.

In 2005 alone, federal investigators estimate that the ring generated $3 million with their scams.

Though it’s unclear how many of the spammers are in custody, and the indictment isn’t likely freeze the torrents of junk hitting your inbox every day, it is a refreshing bit of action from the Justice Department.

It’d be nice to see more of these shots across the bow in the future, and if the Postal Service has anything to say about it, a few more direct hits.

Charged:

• Alan M. Ralsky, 52, of West Bloomfield, Mich.
• Scott K. Bradley, 46, of West Bloomfield, Mich.
• Judy M. Devenow, 55, of Lansing, Mich.
• John S. Bown, 47, of Poway, Calif.
• William C. Neil, 45, of Fresno, Calif.
• Anki K. Neil, 36, of Fresno, Calif
• James E. Bragg, 39, of Queen Creek, Ariz.
• James E. Fite, 34, of Whittier, Calif.
• Peter Severa, age unknown, of Russia
• How Wai John Hui, 49, of Vancouver, Canada and Hong Kong
• Francis A. Tribble, of Los Angeles, Calif.