Seized car packed with stolen documents may be linked to mail carrier robbery

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A human resources manager for a business that helps manage wound care centers saw our Better Call Behnken report about a car that was seized by police after it was found to be packed with hundreds of personal documents and strangers’ checks and unopened mail.

The business feared they could be a victim, saying they were made aware late last year that their mail carrier had been held at gunpoint, and the criminal stole the master key to the post boxes at their business suite in Temple Terrace. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and Postal Inspector announced arrests in mail carrier robberies, one in Temple Terrace, in December.

Investigator Shannon Behnken determined that the business was, in fact, a victim and the Largo police report cited 10 checks belonging to the business were found in the back of the car that was searched in conjunction with the investigation of another crime. That crime involved using false identification to rent a property.

Not only does this business and other victims in the report tell Behnken they weren’t notified by law enforcement, the U.S. Postal Inspector’s Office says they weren’t notified either.

Postal Inspector Damien Kraebel said this is the first they’ve heard of the car found in Largo.

“We take robberies of our mail carriers very seriously,” Kraeble said.

This complicated tale started last month when Phyllis Faber called Better Call Behnken for help. The salon owner said she dropped off a check to pay a bill at a nearby Pinch A Penny in Temple Terrace and later discovered it had been stolen, altered and cashed by someone else.

The owner of the Pinch A Penny told Consumer Investigator Shannon Behnken that multiple customer checks were missing and two had been altered and cashed. In both cases, the name of the payee had been changed to a woman named Keelee.

Temple Terrace police said they have surveillance video of Keelee cashing the check but they have closed their case and are trying to transfer the case to a law enforcement agency in Pinellas County. No agency has claimed the investigation yet, though.

Better Call Behnken has discovered the same Keelee popped up on the radar of Largo police on Jan. 30. During an arrest involving a man who allegedly used a fraudulent ID to rent a property, police records show that man was found in car registered to the same Keelee.

Inside that car, according to the report, officers found multiple people with criminal histories, including one man found asleep in the “trunk area.”

Also inside that car, records show, officers found hundreds of financial documents belonging to individuals and businesses. Also found, according to the report: check paper, a printer, erasers, various writing utensils, a driver’s license and bank cards belonging to numerous people, a metal grinder with a green leafy residue and a Bentley car key.

Also confiscated was a loaded handgun and ammunition.

Documents trace back to victims in 19 Florida counties or cities, including 15 in the Tampa Bay area, touching Pinellas, Polk, Hillsborough and Pasco counties. In addition, documents for four other states, were included in the report, including California, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia.

Here are some of the highlights of hundreds of personal and business documents seized.

• 30 pieces of unopened personal mail

• 21 financial documents for a dentist office in temple terrace

• 27 personal checks

• 57 banking statements

• 10 checks for a wound care facility in Tampa

• 55 business checks for various citizens

Some victims are named in the report, including the chiropractic business of Dr. Pavloa Santamaria. Nearly two months after the documents were found, Better Call Behnken was the first to tell her.

“I am completely blindsided,” Santamaria said. “I have no idea what these documents could be and honestly, I’m very, very worried.”

She said she is disappointed that law enforcement didn’t notify her or return the stolen financial documents from her business that were found in this car.

According to public records, the personal documents are from 19 Florida counties or cities and four other states, including California, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia. The Largo Police Department said they issued what’s known as a BOLO report, alerting other law enforcement of the evidence seized.

But at this time, no agency appears to be investigating the larger check cooking scheme.

“That makes no sense to me,” said  Dr. Pavloa Santamaria, whose chiropractic business is listed as one with financial documents found in the car. “It’s unbelievable.”

Santamaria and others said they want their documents back and they are furious they weren’t notified. They said they’ve called the Largo Police Department for answers and aren’t getting any.

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