Birmingham Man Sentenced to More than Five Years for Unlawfully Possessing U.S. Postal Service Key and Possession of Stolen Mail

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - A federal judge sentenced a Birmingham man on charges of possession of stolen mail and unlawful possession of U.S. Postal Service (USPS) keys, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and U.S. Postal Inspection Service Inspector-in-Charge Scott D. Fix, Houston Division.

U.S. District Court Judge Anna Manasco sentenced Derrell Allen Matthews, 27, to 63 months in prison. In February, Matthews pleaded guilty to conspiracy, paying a bribe to a public official, possession of U.S. Postal Service keys, stolen or reproduced, bank fraud and possession of stolen mail.

U.S. District Court Judge Anna Manasco previously sentenced two other defendants involved in the scheme:

Keaundria Janae Gresham, 30, of Pleasant Grove, was sentenced to 12 months in prison for conspiracy, public official accepting a bribe and possession of U.S. Postal Service keys, stolen, or reproduced.

Steven Cornelius Hudson, Jr, 34, of Bessemer, was sentenced to 36 months of probation for possession of stolen mail. According to Hudson's plea agreement, Matthews paid him to drive him around.

According to court documents, between August 2022 and April 2023, Matthews used stolen USPS keys to steal mail from several blue collection boxes in Hoover, Alabama. Matthews purchased the USPS keys from Greshman. Greshman was employed by the United States Postal Service as a letter carrier and was assigned to a U.S. Post Office in Birmingham. She used her position to provide unauthorized USPS keys to Matthews. In October 2022, Matthews was found in possession of a USPS key, stolen checks, counterfeit checks, blank checks, stock printers and more than 350 stolen, altered, or counterfeit checks totaling over $1 million dollars. Between October 2021 and May 2023, Matthews deposited altered or counterfeit checks by ATM or mobile deposit into co-conspirator's bank accounts. Matthews took a portion of the deposited amount for himself and left a portion in the account or paid the person by other means.

In April 2023, postal inspectors and Shelby County Sheriff's deputies observed Matthews open two blue collection boxes at the Meadowbrook Post Office. Matthews removed mail from the boxes and put it in the front seat of his vehicle. Deputies conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle. The driver, Hudson, Jr. and the passenger, Matthews, were arrested.

If you like to report United States Postal Service mail theft or other crimes committed through or towards the United States Postal Service, please contact the United States Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455 or https://www.uspis.gov/report.

U.S. Postal Inspection Service, along with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel McBrayer prosecuted the case.