WEST PALM BEACH — Five people are facing racketeering charges in a mail-theft and check-cashing scheme, the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office said.
Investigators said checks taken from stolen mail were "washed" to remove certain information, then rewritten with new payout amounts to a different payee. The scheme reportedly resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars being deposited into the bank accounts of conspirators for withdrawals and dispersals.
The scheme also involved stealing postal keys from mail carriers and using the keys to open bulk mail bins. The group targeted bins from Boca Raton and Delray Beach to Wellington , frequently working in the middle of the night.
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The charges were the result of "Operation Checkmate," a joint investigation between the State Attorney's Office, the Delray Beach Police Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Dario Cadet and Joelson Gabrius, both 24, Mozelle Estica, 23, Jordan St. Val, 22, and Billy Cadet, 20, face charges of racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering and fraudulent use of personal identification, the State Attorney's Office announced on Friday, July 12. Additional arrests are expected.
Records show the defendants have residences in Lake Worth Beach, Boynton Beach and Delray Beach.
“These arrests are a credit to hard work by the Delray Beach Police and the Postal Inspection Service to stop this criminal enterprise and protect county citizens and their mail,” State Attorney Dave Aronberg said in a prepared statement. “Prosecutors will seek justice for the victims of this fraud.”
Stolen postal keys granted access to bulk mail bins, authorities say
The new payees were often someone who agreed to let St. Val and the Cadets use their accounts to deposit the counterfeit checks, the State Attorney's Office said.
If and when the check cleared, the three men would communicate with the bank-account holder to pull out the stolen funds to be shared, according to prosecutors. Gabrius and Estica are accused of allowing their accounts to be used to facilitate the scheme.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service began its investigation into the stolen postal keys in October 2022 when it became aware of a series of thefts from a blue collection box at the original Wellington Mall on Forest Hill Boulevard.
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Authorities say the keys have become highly sought-after in recent years as they can open both community mailboxes and blue drop boxes, giving the thieves access to steal people's checks, bank and credit card statements.
The keys can only be used by postal-service employees during the course of carrying out their assigned duties and must be returned at the end of each workday.
Federal and local law-enforcement officials urge residents to pick up delivered mail as quickly as possible and to avoid leaving sensitive documents sitting in mail-collection boxes overnight or over the weekend. Checks and financial documents should be brought inside post offices for mailing.
Mail tampering and fraud should immediately be reported to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service by submitting an online complaint at www.uspis.gov/report or calling 877-876-2455. It offers these other tips to protect your mail and to eliminate risks to letter carriers.
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Judges set bail for five defendants in mail-theft, check-fraud case
Four of the five people charged appeared in court Thursday, July 11, at the Palm Beach County Jail. One defendant appeared the following day.
During Thursday's court hearings, Circuit Judge Donald Hafele deemed the Cadets to be indigent, instructing Billy Cadet to correctly fill out an affidavit and return for a first appearance hearing on Tuesday. Dario Cadet was represented by a public defender as Hafele set his bail amount $370,000. As a policy, the county Public Defender's Office does not comment on open cases.
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Hafele also found St. Val to be indigent. It was not clear whether St. Val was represented by a public or private attorney. His bail amount was set at $500,0000. Gabrius was assigned a public defender and Hafele set his bail amount at $170,000.
Estica was the lone defendant to appear in court Friday, with County Judge Ted Booras setting her bail amount at $130,000. A message left Friday afternoon for an attorney who appeared on her behalf was not immediately returned.
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham . Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Five charged with racketeering in South Florida mail-theft, check-cashing scheme
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