Share this @internewscast.com
A MAN has been caught stealing over $96,000 using a homemade trap that allowed him to swipe checks from mailboxes.
In May 2024, more than 500 checks disappeared from a USPS Blue Box, prompting postal workers to notice a suspicious vehicle lingering by the mailbox.
Keyon Ponder, 28, admitted on Monday to creating a trap using cardboard to intercept mail deposited in the post office’s collection box in Macon, Georgia, located 85 miles southeast of Atlanta.
The trap allowed him to reach inside the box’s opening to get the outgoing mail.
The United States Postal Inspection Service started investigating the missing checks on May 29, 2024, after multiple complaints about stolen mail.
Two days later, a USPS worker saw a black Tesla hanging around the post office’s Blue Box.
After observing the car leave and come back to the box repeatedly, an employee photographed the vehicle and its license plate to provide to the USPIS investigator.
Then, officials saw Ponder drive up to the mailbox in his Tesla, roll down his window, and put his hand in the mailbox, according to a release by Monroe County Sheriff’s Office at the time.
Ponder was then seen putting the cardboard trap in the box. His fingerprints were later found on the device.
He then drove away and was stopped for a traffic violation.
When an officer pulled Ponder over, they found a bag of mail in his car.
Due to other arrest warrants, cops took Ponder into custody.
Prosecutors said none of the mail found in the bag was addressed to Ponder.
He had 52 pieces of stolen stamped mail and 42 stolen checks totaling more than $20,000.
Then, as he was going to jail, more stolen checks were discovered.
Ponder was caught on tape taking something out of his pants and hiding it in the booking area of the jail.
USPS mess-ups
The United States Postal Service is facing customer complaints as the mail agency struggles to stay afloat admit workforce cuts and financial loss.
Cops later found it was an envelope with 17 more checks inside.
The hidden mail also contained a money order worth more than $75,000.
When investigators looked into Ponder’s two phones, they found an elaborate scheme where he was selling the stolen checks on Telegram, a messaging app.
Cops also found pictures of over 500 stolen checks.
GUILTY PLEA
On Monday, Ponder admitted to stealing, advertising, and selling the checks.
He pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud.
Ponder faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine, prosecutors said.
Acting US Attorney C. Shanelle Booker shared a statement praising the USPIS for investigating the crime.
“Keyon Ponder’s stolen check scheme defrauded citizens and businesses alike, a crime that will ultimately cost him years in prison,” Booker said.
“I commend the actions of U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigators who quickly responded to reports of theft from a Blue Box, ultimately preventing additional fraud and helping us hold the perpetrator accountable.”
