Man bought USPS key off Alabama postal worker, stole mail, feds say. He’s sentenced
A man bought a master key from a postal worker in Alabama and used it to steal hundreds of pieces of mail and write fraudulent checks, federal authorities said.
Sean Donnell White, 30, has now been sentenced to two years and eight months in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama announced Dec. 9.
White, who is from the Mobile metro area, is also accused of running a cryptocurrency scam — that made him $210,000 richer — by buying stolen identities from the dark web.
McClatchy News reached out to White’s attorney for comment Dec. 9 but did not immediately receive a response.
Law enforcement said it began monitoring White in October 2022 after he was caught on camera using what appeared to be a U.S. Postal Service arrow key to open mailboxes and take out the contents, according to a criminal complaint.
On Nov. 1, 2022, White was caught in the act and led law enforcement on a high-speed chase before getting out of his vehicle and running, investigators said.
When officials searched White’s car, they reported finding hundreds of pieces of stolen mail and packages.
Investigators said they learned White had purchased a USPS arrow key from a mail carrier for $2,500, McClatchy News reported.
According to an indictment, White stole checks from the mail and obtained victims’ personal information, then he deposited the fraudulently altered checks via mobile deposit or at an ATM.
He made nearly $70,000 worth of fraudulent bank transactions in this scheme, prosecutors said.
The USPS worker accused of selling White the key wrote in a text message that doing so gave her “so much anxiety,” McClatchy News reported. She also deposited counterfeit checks stolen from the mail, investigators said.
She was sentenced to 30 months in prison after being convicted at trial.
White pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, documents show. In addition to serving 32 months in prison, he’s also ordered to pay $35,334 in victim restitution and a money judgment of $210,000, prosecutors said.
This story was originally published December 9, 2024 at 12:35 PM with the headline "Man bought USPS key off Alabama postal worker, stole mail, feds say. He’s sentenced."