Repeat offender sentenced in theft of ‘large quantities’ of Charlotte-area mail
A repeat offender who stole “large quantities of mail” from Charlotte-area mailboxes while on supervised release was sentenced to nearly five years in prison Thursday, U.S. Attorney Dena King said.
Soheil Akhavan Rezaie, a 39-year-old Charlotte resident, used confidential information he found in the mail to obtain about $150,000 for himself, according to a news release by King’s office.
His cache included credit cards, tax forms, financial statements, personal identifying information and personal and business bank checks.
Rezaie pleaded guilty in June to wire fraud in the case, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
According to court records, Rezaie and others not named by prosecutors targeted neighborhoods in Charlotte and surrounding areas to steal mail.
Rezaie admitted to changing the amounts of checks he stole and the names of the payees to his own, court records show. He deposited the altered checks into bank accounts he controlled and then withdrew the money before the victims and financial institutions realized the checks were stolen.
Altering stolen checks
Rezaie also stole blank checks and wrote checks to himself, cashing them at various financial institutions, prosecutors said.
He used stolen personal information to create fake identification documents in the mail-theft victims’ names, according to court documents.
Part of his sentencing Thursday was for violating the terms of his supervised release stemming from a 2017 mail theft conviction, prosecutors said.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police arrested Rezaie in 2016 for stealing mail from 24 residents in the Stillwater neighborhood in Ballantyne, WCNC reported. Police found stolen mail in the car Rezaie was driving, along with marijuana and drug paraphernalia, the TV station said.
Rezaie was in federal custody after Thursday’s sentencing waiting for a determination on the prison where he’ll spend the next four years and seven months, prosecutors said.
King thanked the FBI and USPIS for investigating the mail thefts.
Tips for homeowners
While announcing Thursday’s sentencing, King’s office offered tips to homeowners from the U.S. Postal Service to prevent mail thefts from their mailboxes and porches.
▪ Retrieve letters and boxes as quickly as possible after they arrive.
▪ Deposit mail close to pick-up time — outgoing mail into collection boxes before the last collection or inside your local postal office.
▪ Contact the sender about overdue mail.
▪ Never mail cash or gift cards.
▪ If you won’t be around to receive a package, contact the postal service to hold it.
▪ Use the “Hold for Pick Up” option, particularly when shipping packages, so the recipients can pick up it up at their local post office.
▪ Request signature confirmation, especially when mailing important mail.
▪ File a change of address when moving.
This story was originally published December 10, 2022 at 8:38 AM.