Crime & Safety

Bank Fraud, Mail Theft Lands FL Man In Prison, U.S. DOJ Says

A St. Petersburg man who stole checks, debit cards and credit cards from mail was sentenced to prison, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

A St. Petersburg man who stole checks, debit cards and credit cards from mail was sentenced to prison, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
A St. Petersburg man who stole checks, debit cards and credit cards from mail was sentenced to prison, the U.S. Department of Justice said. (Isaac Jonas/Patch)

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A St. Petersburg man will spend five years and five months in federal prison for bank fraud and mail theft, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.

Ah’Jhzae Diamondric Artag Berry, 30, pleaded guilty to the charges on June 4.

On many occasions, usually at night, between January and June 2024, Berry, with the help of others, broke into U.S. Postal Service receptacles using a stolen USPS key, the DOJ said.

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He stole and opened mail, removing valuable contents, including debit cards, credit cards, gift cards and checks. At least once, Berry stole election ballots.

He and his accomplices altered the payee on the stolen checks and fraudulently deposited them at banks.

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In total, they stole more than $380,000 from hundreds of victims, the DOJ said.

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