Shelby Township police halt $1 Million mail theft spree in Michigan

SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (FOX 2) - Nearly $1 million has been stolen from mailboxes across Michigan in six different counties, but fortunately, Shelby Township officials have stopped the crime spree.

The backstory:

Businesses throughout Metro Detroit were on high alert as some are now without $100,000. FOX 2 talked with Cyprium Induction owner, Jim Link, who says no money was stolen, but he told police what was going on at the time.

"It just feels like same old, like people trying to get over on you, you know. And you just gotta be proactive and just not, not let it happen," Link says.

The owner said two weeks ago when his office manager checked the shared mailbox in front of his business on Industrial Center Drive in Shelby Township, the mail inside was all crumpled up.

"Someone’s going through, that means they were digging through dumping it and I said ‘call the cops.’ They already knew about it. Came here. Went through everything," he said.

What they're saying:

Meanwhile, Sgt. Kevin Bailey of Shelby Township Police says they were first notified about the mail thefts back on Jan. 20.

"They were walking around, and they were just going around, going through each mailbox and pulling out the mail," Bailey said. "A lot of businesses started realizing that their bills weren’t being paid or the people that they were trying to pay weren’t getting their checks. One business actually went back and looked through surveillance video and saw a shadowy figure going to the mailbox."

Detectives and United States Postal Service inspectors immediately launched an investigation, tracking down the suspects and the vehicles they were using. There they found vehicles filled with mail inside 27 different cities.

All the checks came to almost $1 million.

Sgt. Bailey says Daryl Roberts and Brad Stewart, both of Detroit, were arrested and arraigned on a charge of criminal enterprise on Feb. 4.

He says the men were taking the checks and washing them.

"They were selling the checks to someone that may have the ability to wash the check, to wash out the name and maybe make a new amount on there. They were getting paid for the checks that these companies had," Bailey said.

What you can do:

His advice to business owners: don’t put large checks in your mailbox.

Drop them in a USPS blue mailbox or hand-deliver them.

What's next:

Detectives are looking into whether the two men acted alone or were part of a ring.

Police say the investigation is ongoing.