FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — A metro Atlanta man admitted to use a “trap” to steal thousands of dollars in checks from a mail collection box. Prosecutors said it was part of a scheme to sell the stolen checks online.
Keyon Ponder from Fayetteville pleaded guilty to bank fraud in federal court on Monday. He faces up to 30 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine.
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The United States Postal Inspection Service started investigating mail thefts at a Macon post office on May 29, 2024. Inspectors found a piece of cardboard inside a blue box, which blocked the mail from falling down into the blue box. The trap allowed whoever set it to then put his or her hand inside and grab the mail.
Two days later, a USPS employee spotted a Black Tesla pull up multiple times to the blue box. The employee said the driver didn’t place anything into the blue box.
Inspectors saw the same Tesla return that afternoon and saw the driver stick his hand into the box and pulled items out.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office later pulled over the driver, identified as Ponder. Inside the Tesla, they found 52 pieces of stolen mail, two cell phones and a cardboard box and tape that matched the trap.
When they took him to the jail, Ponder was spotted on jail security cameras pulling something out of his pants. It turned out to be an envelope with another batch of stolen checks.
In total, prosecutors said Ponder had 59 checks that totaled $96,000.
Prosecutors said that Ponder and several others stole the checks to sell them on Telegram messaging app. Ponder’s phones contained more than 500 photos of stolen checks listed for sale.
His sentencing will be scheduled for a later date.
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