A former mail carrier with the Postal Service pleaded guilty last week in federal court to stealing almost 100 sports trading cards worth thousands of dollars from the mail.
According to an announcement from the Justice Department, Paul O. Robinson, 26, of Richmond, Missouri pleaded guilty to one count of mail theft. He is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. Sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
Robinson admitted in his guilty plea to stealing 94 sports trading cards, valued at approximately $39,994, and other items from the mail from April to June 2021.
Robinson worked for the U.S. Postal Service from 2018 to 2021 and was initially assigned to be a carrier at the Barry Woods Annex in Kansas City, MO. In June 2021, a customer reported that he had mailed a Kevin Durant basketball card valued at $1,925 to a customer in Kansas City but that the card had never arrived. The customer also provided the tracking and serial numbers for additional mail items that contained valuable sports trading cards that were missing.
Four of the missing sports cards were recovered from a sports memorabilia store in Gladstone, MO. Surveillance video from the store showed Robinson, in his postal uniform, presenting the cards for sale on June 12, 2021.
When federal agents interviewed Robinson, he admitted that he stole the cards. Robinson also admitted to taking mail home in his car and destroying mail. Agents searched Robinson’s residence and found approximately 440 pieces of mail and one additional trading card.
In August 2021, 11 additional sports trading cards were recovered from a sports cards and memorabilia store in Liberty, MO along with a card that was also recovered from the sports memorabilia store in Gladstone.
