Charlotte man admits in court that he stole mail and cashed altered checks, feds say
A Charlotte man admitted in federal court on Tuesday to stealing mail and using confidential information to commit wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Soheil Akhavan Rezaie, 37, and others stole large amounts of mail from residential mailboxes in Charlotte neighborhoods and surrounding areas from the beginning of 2021 to March 2022, according to a news release from the office of Dena King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Rezaie stole credit cards, tax forms, financial statements, personal identifying information, and personal and business bank checks from the mailboxes, the release said. He altered stolen checks and changed the names of the payees to his own before depositing them into bank accounts he controlled, according to King’s office.
Before banks or individuals could determine if the checks were stolen, Rezaie withdrew the funds, the release said.
Rezaie stole blank checks and wrote checks to himself, which he cashed at various banks — causing more than $150,000 in loss through the fraudulent scheme, King’s office said. Rezaie used stolen personal identifying information to create fake identification documents in the mail theft victims’ names, court records show.
He pleaded guilty to wire fraud, which carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine, King’s office said. A sentencing date has not been set.
Rezaie was on supervised release for a 2017 mail theft conviction when he started his spree last year, King’s office said. A second cancellation of his supervised release is pending for violating his previous conviction.
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.
How to prevent mail theft
To avoid being a mail theft victim, the U.S. Postal Service offers these tips:
▪ Promptly pick up mail and try not to leave letters and packages in the mailbox or at the door unattended for any length of time.
▪ Deposit mail close to pickup time, so outgoing mail should go into collection boxes before the last collection or inside the local postal office.
▪ Ask about overdue mail. If valuable or important mail hasn’t been received, contact the sender to inquire about it.
▪ Do not send cash or gift cards.
▪ Arrange for prompt pickup. Contact the postal service to hold package if receiving it isn’t convenient.
▪ 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.
