Press Release
3 Cincinnati men sentenced to prison for stealing USPS keys
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Ohio
CINCINNATI – Three Cincinnati men were sentenced in federal court today for conspiring to commit mail theft.
Lawrence Sherman, 23, was sentenced to 40 months in prison. Brandon McCollum, 21, was sentenced to 24 months in prison. Jeffrey Wiley, 23, was sentenced to 27 months in prison.
According to court documents, between July 2022 and June 2023, the defendants conspired to steal postal arrow keys to then steal mail from blue collection boxes. The conspiracy caused a loss amount of between $250,000 and $550,000 and involved 10 or more victims.
Conspirators would steal any cash contained in the mail from the receptacles. They would also steal checks and “wash” or erase the original information in an attempt to fraudulently convert the checks. The defendants would then deposit the altered checks in borrowed accounts and withdrawal cash from ATMs.
There were multiple police chases connected to this particular scheme and at least one stolen vehicle driven by Sherman. During one such traffic stop in Springfield Township in January 2023, McCollum was in possession of a stolen postal arrow key.
Sherman, McCollum and Wiley are three of at least a dozen defendants charged in the Southern District of Ohio in 2022 and 2023 with crimes related to postal robberies.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Lesley Allison, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), announced the sentences imposed today by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Susan J. Dlott and acknowledged the assistance of the Wyoming, Springdale and Green Hills police departments. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy S. Mangan is representing the United States in this case.
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Contact
jennifer.thornton@usdoj.gov
Updated December 19, 2023
Topic
Violent Crime
Component