The suspect made nearly $1 million by using post office master keys to open secured mail boxes. Money is always in the mail
Tidarian Williams, 32, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 42 months in prison in August 2026 after stealing almost $1 million in the US mail.
Between October 2024 and May 2025, Williams used arrow keys, which are master keys used by the U.S. Postal Service, to unlawfully access cluster mailboxes and steal mail in and around Charlotte.
Williams specifically sought after pieces of mail that contained checks, credit cards, or other financial instruments, which he then used to enrich himself or sell to others. During his crime spree, Williams became increasingly brazen, as he transitioned from breaking into outdoor mailboxes at night to walking into businesses and residential buildings in the middle of the day and breaking into cluster mailboxes located in the lobbies.
Court documents show that Williams’ thefts victimized businesses and residents across the Charlotte area, and at least one property targeted by Williams hired a guard to physically monitor its mailroom. The total loss associated with Williams’s scheme is approximately $963,000 and involved at least 10 victims.
Court documents show that Williams used stolen credit cards and other financial instruments to purchase luxury goods, jewelry, and other items. In addition, Williams sold or offered to sell to other individuals the “keys to the city,” meaning arrow keys, as well as stolen checks.
According to court records, in April 2025, law enforcement responded to a mail theft in progress. When postal inspectors arrived on the scene, they observed Williams driving away in his vehicle. The postal inspectors blocked Williams’s vehicle and attempted to stop him, but when a postal inspector exited his car to approach the defendant, Williams fled by driving on the sidewalk, striking the postal inspector with his vehicle and causing him to sustain minor injuries.
Williams then drove recklessly at high rates of speed and nearly struck a pedestrian. Williams was later arrested charged with safe cracking and various theft crimes, including failure to pay child support.
In 2026 Williams was convicted of unlawful possession of a USPS arrow key and theft of mail matter. He will serve around 3 years in prison.
