Brittany, who is behind on her mortgage, watches her neighbor, Ivan, put his rent check in the U.S. Post Office mailbox on the corner.

Brittany, who is behind on her mortgage, watches her neighbor, Ivan, put his rent check in the U.S. Post Office mailbox on the corner. After Ivan goes back inside his apartment building, Brittany sneaks outside and takes the rent check out of the mail box. She intends to forge the landlord’s signature, cash the check, and use the funds to pay her own mortgage. Later, Brittany has a change of heart and tears up the check instead. Has she committed a federal crime nonetheless? Find the relevant federal statute and explain your answer using complete sentences. Provide an official, full-form citation to the applicable statute.