Florida police arrested five people Monday in connection with a mail fraud scheme that involved stolen U.S. Postal Service keys and more than 2,000 stolen checks.
“This is a very serious case,” said Detective Kimberly Mead of the Delray Beach Police Department. “It’s really huge when you break it down.”
A series of mail fraud cases has landed five Delray Beach men behind bars. All five of them – Robbie Cadet, Dario Cadet, Billy Cadet, Jordan St. Val and Shane Padovani – have since been bonded out of jail.
Mead said the investigation began when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service contacted Delray Beach police because they believed the five suspects were connected to local mail theft cases.
“We started looking into them a little bit and then we interviewed one of the subjects who gave us some information,” Mead told Scripps News West Palm Beach.
Mead said he led Delray Beach police to a home where they found a large amount of evidence linking the group to an ongoing scheme.
“So far we’ve executed three search warrants, and we’ve recovered over 2,000 checks, about 150 bank cards,” Mead said. “We have recovered two embossing machines. We have recovered evidence of check washing and check making materials.”
According to the probable cause affidavit, they also found a USPS key that was stolen last November.
“They’re combining armed robberies of mail carriers to get the keys,” Mead said. “The key then opens the mailbox where they’re receiving the mail and then they take the checks out of the mail and use them to make counterfeits. They’re washing the checks. They’re making new checks.”
Mead said police are working with other area law enforcement agencies, including the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Boynton Beach Police Department and West Palm Beach Police Department, and it’s possible the group may be responding to mail fraud cases in those areas. May be connected.
He said that the investigation is still going on.
“Additional arrests are imminent,” Mead said.
This story was originally published by Jessica Bruno Scripps News West Palm Beach,