Former Mail Carrier Pleads Guilty to Stealing Sports Trading Cards

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former mail carrier pleaded guilty in federal court today to stealing nearly 100 sports trading cards worth thousands of dollars from the mail.

Paul O. Robinson, 26, of Richmond, Missouri, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to a federal information that charges him with one count of mail theft.

By pleading guilty today, Robinson admitted that he stole 94 sports trading cards, valued at approximately $39,994, and other items from the mail from April to June 2021.

Robinson worked for the U.S. Postal Service from 2018 to 2021. He was initially assigned to be a carrier at the Barry Woods Annex in Kansas City, Mo. In June 2021 a customer reported that he had mailed a Kevin Durant basketball sports trading card valued at $1,925 to a customer in Kansas City, Mo., but the card never arrived. The customer also provided the tracking and serial numbers for additional mail items that contained valuable sports trading cards and had been placed in the mail and were missing.

Four of the missing sports cards were recovered from a sports memorabilia store in Gladstone, Mo. Surveillance video from the store showed Robinson, in his postal uniform, presenting the cards for sale on June 12, 2021. When federal agents interviewed Robinson, he admitted that he stole the cards. Robinson also admitted to taking mail home in his car and destroying mail. Agents searched Robinson’s residence and found approximately 440 pieces of mail and one additional trading card.

In August 2021, 11 additional sports trading cards were recovered from a sports cards and memorabilia store in Liberty, Mo. Another sports trading card was also recovered from the sports memorabilia store in Gladstone.

Under federal statutes, Robinson is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney R. Pratten. It was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General.