A United States Postal Service worker in Delray Beach is accused of selling stolen checks and universal keys that unlocked mailboxes in several Palm Beach County cities to an undercover officer, according to a criminal complaint recently filed in federal court.
Hudson Adrien began working at the Delray Beach Post Office as a city carrier in May 2020, according to the complaint filed Friday. He is facing one count of keys or locks stolen or reproduced and one count of theft of mail matter by officer or employee.
Adrien’s attorney Michael Weinstein said his client was booked into jail Monday after voluntarily surrendering himself in response to a summons and since has been released. Weinstein said Tuesday that his client has not yet been indicted.
A source told federal law enforcement officials in June that someone by the nickname of “Son Son” was offering to sell a USPS arrow key that opened mailboxes in Delray Beach, Boca Raton and Boynton Beach for $10,000, the complaint said.
Each arrow key is assigned to an individual postal office worker, the complaint said, and is only to be used to open mailboxes and collection boxes during the employee’s work hours. Each key has its own serial number and can be traced back to a specific office and carrier route, according to the complaint.
The source who gave law enforcement the tip provided them with the phone number for “Son Son,” the complaint said, which was found to be registered to a resident in Margate, and the address was associated with Adrien.
Agents received a text message with a photo of the arrow key that Adrien was allegedly selling, which had a serial number connected to the Delray Beach Post Office, the complaint said. An undercover agent texted Adrien in late July, who told the agent he wanted to sell the key and “paper,” which the federal agent who wrote the affidavit said is a term for checks.
Adrien then allegedly texted the undercover agent a photo of two arrow keys that he said opened mailboxes in West Palm Beach and a pile of checks, according to the complaint, and said he could get a key that opened boxes in Pompano Beach.
The undercover agent met with Adrien in the parking lot of a Walmart in Pompano Beach in early August to buy a key that opened blue USPS mailboxes and mailboxes at apartment complexes in Delray Beach for $10,000, the complaint said. Adrien also handed the agent an envelope with a check inside, which was supposed to be delivered on Adrien’s route.
During their exchange, Adrien allegedly told the undercover agent he had a “duffle bag full of checks” at his home and that he would split the amount of the checks in half with the person who cashed them, according to the complaint.
Adrien and the undercover agent continued communicating after the August exchange. Adrien sent the agent another photo of an arrow key assigned to the Delray Beach Post Office later that month that he allegedly offered to sell, according to the complaint, and in late October, sent a photo of another key that he said opened boxes in West Palm Beach.
He also allegedly told the undercover agent in late October that he could sell checks and take a 10% fee from the face value, meaning he’d charge $10,000 for a $100,000 check, the complaint said.
The undercover agent and Adrien communicated earlier this month about prices for another arrow key and checks, and Adrien allegedly said he had over $100,000 in stolen checks to sell, the complaint said.
“I’m loaded, my boy,” Adrien told the undercover agent, according to the complaint. The next day, Nov. 6, he said he had over $600,000 in checks to sell, adding, “and it’s only Monday.” He said he got stolen checks each day.
Adrien sent one video that showed numerous checks, totaling several hundred thousand dollars, that were made payable to businesses on his route in Delray Beach, the complaint said. The next meeting they arranged would be the last.
On Nov. 9, Adrien met with the agent in a Walmart parking lot in Pompano Beach to sell an arrow key and 21 checks that totaled over half a million dollars, the complaint said. The agent gave him $45,000 “in flash money, which is simulated United States currency.”
The agent and Adrien were detained after the exchange, the complaint said, and Adrien was taken to the Broward Sheriff’s Office for an interview. The complaint said Adrien admitted to stealing mail and selling the keys and checks and that he had more checks at his home. He gave written consent for his home and phone to be searched.
His attorney Weinstein did not immediately have information about Adrien’s employment status Tuesday evening. Adrien’s first appearance was held Tuesday, according to the federal court docket.
“He’s innocent until proven guilty,” Weinstein said.
As a condition of his pre-trial release, Adrien has been placed on GPS monitoring and must remain at his home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., according to court records. A special condition is “no employment to access mail matter.”
A South Florida USPS spokesperson did not return an email seeking comment after business hours Tuesday.