Man caught with 500 pieces of mail stolen from NC residents who lost $30K, feds say
A man accused of using Instagram to recruit people in a mail theft scheme was found with over 500 pieces of stolen mail inside his Raleigh, North Carolina, home, federal prosecutors said.
Investigators were led to Anthony Messiah Brooks, 21, after several U.S. Postal Service collection boxes in Raleigh had mail stolen out of them between May and August 2022, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Carolina. The only way to open the boxes is with a USPS master key.
Around that time, two USPS letter carriers were victims of armed robbery, “specifically for their USPS-issued ‘arrow’ key,” an affidavit filed with a criminal complaint says. It’s unclear if Brooks was directly involved in these robberies.
When investigators searched Brooks’ home, they found the stolen mail with cash, checks, gift cards and money orders inside worth more than $30,000, according to prosecutors.
The loss of money was connected to at least six people, prosecutors said.
Now, a judge has sentenced Brooks to two years in prison for possession of stolen mail, the attorney’s office announced Oct. 26. His sentencing comes after he pleaded guilty in July to one count of possession of stolen mail and one count of conspiracy to commit theft of mail, prosecutors said.
As part of his sentencing, he must pay restitution to those he stole from, according to prosecutors who said there may be additional victims out there.
McClatchy News contacted a defense attorney representing Brooks for comment and didn’t receive an immediate response.
Brooks was caught using Instagram to message and recruit other people who are accused of taking part in the mail theft scheme, according to prosecutors and the affidavit.
The affidavit shows Brooks’ Instagram username was “extortion.ricoo.”
“Specifically, there were direct messages to other users regarding bank account balances, photos of checks, and discussions of various meeting locations at banks,” prosecutors said.
At his sentencing hearing, Brooks faced up to one year in prison, according to the release.
However, the court decided to issue a lengthier sentence, describing his conduct as “egregious,” according to prosecutors.
“A more significant punishment was needed to deter Brooks and others from stealing mail from, and perpetrating fraud against, the community,” prosecutors said.
This story was originally published October 27, 2023 at 9:33 AM with the headline "Man caught with 500 pieces of mail stolen from NC residents who lost $30K, feds say."
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