Ringleader of mail theft conspiracy sentenced after using stolen credit cards to make $400K in purchases

CHICAGO - A Naperville man has been sentenced to federal prison for a mail theft scheme that cost financial institutions over $400,000. 

Davey Hines, 30, was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2021 for conspiracy to defraud the United States among several other charges after recruiting U.S. Postal Service employees to steal mail. 

The Northern District of Illinois U.S. Attorney's Office says Hines was indicted alongside 10 other individuals involved in the scheme. 

Officials say the thefts happened between June 2018 and December 2019. 

Multiple agencies worked together on the investigation dubbed "Operation Cash on Delivery." Investigators say the USPS employees would steal credit cards and other personal information to give to Hines in exchange for cash or other items of value. 

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Over the course of the 19-month conspiracy, Hines and his co-conspirators stole more than 657 credit cards and made more than $462,719 in fraudulent purchases.

Hines plead guilty to four counts charging conspiracy, receipt of stolen mail, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft on July 8, 2022. 

He was sentenced to nine years in federal prison on Monday. Hines was also ordered to pay restitution to the victim financial institutions that issued the stolen credit cards.  

Officials say Hines committed the offenses while on court-supervised release following a prior federal conviction for bank fraud in 2015.