A now-former United States Postal Service (USPS) worker in New Jersey confessed to stealing thousands of dollars worth of sports memorabilia, including multiple cards of NBA legend Michael Jordan.
Shelby Dozier, 34, of the Bronx, New York, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to theft of mail by a postal service employee, according to federal court records obtained by USA TODAY. Dozier had worked as a sorting clerk at the Clifton Main Post Office in Clifton, New Jersey since August 2022, the Justice Department said.
Shortly after Dozier began working at USPS, several parcels intended for delivery to a consignment auction house in Clifton went missing, according to a criminal complaint filed in the District of New Jersey. The auction house specialized in selling trading cards and sports memorabilia that it received from customers around the world, the court document continued.
Between September 2022 and December 2022, Dozier stole the contents of at least 10 parcels that were mailed to the auction house, the Justice Department said. The stolen parcels contained pricey trading cards and sports memorabilia that Dozier sold to either individual customers or other collectible stores, according to the complaint.
USA TODAY contacted Dozier’s public defender on Thursday but has not received a response.
Investigators say Shelby Dozier was working when parcels went missing
To catch Dozier, investigators reviewed the Clifton post office’s employee attendance records, which showed that the former sorting clerk was on duty when parcels containing the stolen memorabilia went missing from the USPS tracking system and did not reach their intended destination, according to the complaint.
Multiple USPS employees at the Clifton post office also ‘observed several opened and empty parcels destined for the post office box of (the auction house) in the men’s locker room’ during the times Dozier was working as a sorting clerk, the complaint says.
Phone records helped authorities connect Dozier to the memorabilia as they showed that he made multiple calls to companies involved in the sale of trading cards and sports collectibles during the times that the valuable parcels went missing, the complaint reads. He was arrested on Sept. 12, 2024, a couple of months after authorities searched his iCloud account and found contacts of sellers who bought the stolen memorabilia dating back to 2022, according to court records.
As part of Dozier’s plea agreement, he will have to pay $108,692.92 in restitution to the victims, according to the Justice Department. The theft of mail by a postal employee charge carries a maximum potential sentence of five years, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Stolen sports memorabilia includes sports cards, autographed photos, jerseys
According to the complaint, the sports memorabilia Dozier stole in 2022 included:
Two Michael Jordan cards and one Mickey Mantle Card (stolen between Sept. 30-Oct. 1; together worth $4,500)
At least 10 graded sports cards, including multiple Michael Jordan cards (stolen between Oct. 27-Oct. 29; prices of cards ranged from $1,725-$3,525)
Multiple graded sports cards of current NBA players and Pokémon cards (stolen between Nov. 7-Nov. 9; prices of cards ranged from $3,000-$5,000)
29 graded sports cards of several current and former NBA players, including Shaquille O’Neal (stolen between Nov. 7-Nov. 9; together worth $1,352)
Authenticated autographed photos of Rafael Nadal and Hank Greenberg (stolen between Nov. 7-Nov. 9; worth $500)
Multiple graded sports cards of current NBA players (stolen between Nov. 9-Nov. 10; worth $5,000)
Multiple graded sports cards, including an autographed Willie Mays card (stolen between Nov. 9-Nov. 11; worth $2,500)
Seventeen signed sports jerseys (stolen between Nov. 9-Nov. 11; worth $4,450)
Approximately 25 graded sports cards, including multiple Michael Jordan cards (stolen between Nov. 12-Nov. 13; prices of cards ranged from $6,500-$8,000)
Multiple Connor McDavid cards and other NHL sports cards (stolen between Nov. 14-Nov. 16; worth $7,500)
Dozier’s sentencing is scheduled for April 22, court records show.