GEORGETOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Two out-of-state residents are arrested and charged in Ottawa County, in what deputies say is a months-long investigation into mail theft around the area.
The Ottawa County Sheriff's Office reported that Ahmad Malone, 29, of Waukegan, Illinois, and Adebayo Babolola, 29, are now facing charges.
These charges are in relation to a string of mail thefts across the county. Deputies say these thefts seem to target business checks, which are snatched and then cashed somewhere else in the country.
In the past few months deputies say they've gotten about 100 reports of mail larceny or complaints of check fraud.
On Saturday, December 3, deputies were sent to a business in Georgetown Township, where a person had noticed a suspicious car behind the building and called Ottawa County Central Dispatch.
The car drove off before deputies arrived; however, deputies discovered a large quantity of opened mail left in the area.
Deputies say they located the vehicle nearby, initiated a traffic stop, and investigated the incident alongside detectives.
Numerous business checks were recovered from the suspects, authorities say. These checks were linked to thefts from 4 different business mailboxes in the vicinity.
Over $50,000 in stolen business checks were seized and restored to local businesses, authorities said.
Babalola and Malone were taken to the Ottawa County Jail. Both were charged with Receiving and Concealing Stolen Property over $20,000. Malone was arraigned on Monday and remains in the county jail. However, Babalola will be arraigned at a later date.
This incident remains under investigation. The Ottawa County Sheriff's detectives are working with the U.S Postal Inspection Service to learn more about these thefts.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sheriff's Office or Silent Observer at 1-877-88-SILENT (745368) or mosotips.com
