Police: Pa. man accused of impersonating USPS postal worker, stealing $66k in money orders and mail-in election ballots

According to 6ABC, a man accused of dressing up like a postal employee and stealing mail has been arrested.

Authorities said Zachkey James, 27, of Philadelphia, was largely after money orders.

He’s accused of going into various Philadelphia-area post offices and stealing mail. He’s also accused of similar thefts from USPS curbside collection boxes in various locations around Philadelphia and Montgomery County, the news outlet reported.

Officials said the investigation into James reached new heights on Dec. 8, 2021, when James tried to cash money orders at a place called Ace Check Cashing.

But the employee noticed something was amiss.

“The employee further observed a smudge on each money order over a security feature and recognized the smudge as an indication that the money orders had been altered,” the criminal complaint states.

Authorities were notified and James was arrested.

Thereafter, his phone was searched and investigators found conversations about altering money orders and checks.

Additionally, during the investigation, James was caught on security video at another check-cashing business where investigators said he cashed in more than $66,000 in money orders.

This went on from Nov. 2021 to July 2022.

According to the news outlet, investigators said James dressed up as a USPS employee and obtained an arrow key. If you didn’t know, a single arrow key opens dozens of collection box locks in a specific geographic area.

Investigators observed James in July of this year on video at the Kingsessing post office accessing the mail in the collection mailboxes. James was caught on video again doing the same thing at the North Philadelphia post office and others.

Last month, Investigators also said James was in possession of three arrow keys and approximately 15 mail-in ballots that had been stolen from USPS collection boxes.

If convicted, James faces a maximum of 31 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine, the news outlet reported.

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