More than a dozen people have been indicted after being accused of stealing packages from people’s porches.
The Suffolk County District Attorney announced that the group "systematically stole FedEx packages containing cellphones and electronic devices" over two years.
The 14 defendants face 50 felony charges, including enterprise corruption and other counts.
Officials said the alleged theft ring worked in the Bronx from October 2023 to February 2025, with Andricson Jerez leading the team.
Prosecutors said Jerez had “runners” who were given FedEx tracking information for items shipped from Verizon and AT&T that included names, addresses and tracking numbers.
News 12 Long Island said that in some instances, the delivery addresses were changed on some of the items to locations where they could be taken easily.
In all, there were 48 alleged thefts over two years, ABC News reported.
The runners would take packages, which mostly contained cellphones, from homes and businesses then would deliver them to Jerez. Once the items were confirmed to be what they were targeting, they were taken to a stash house where Jerez would sell them in bulk to wholesalers who sent them across the country and across the world, the Suffolk County District Attorney said.
Prosecutors have security camera footage showing how the team operated.
In one, two men can be seen intercepting a package from a delivery driver and getting into a vehicle; others showed packages being taken from homes shortly after they were delivered, ABC News reported.
Law enforcement allegedly recovered hundreds of new cellphones, other electronic devices and more than $100,000 in cash in the stash house.
FedEx released a statement saying it is cooperating with law enforcement.
“With bad actors growing increasingly sophisticated, the shipping industry has been proactively working with law enforcement to address the rise of porch piracy,” the company said in a statement to ABC News. “We constantly adapt our processes and use innovative technologies to protect drivers and packages.”
How to protect yourself from porch pirates
Security company ADT said that about 36% of Americans have been victims of porch pirates.
The company said the first step is to have some sort of security system in place, something such as a video camera and motion detector lights
You can also get a “porch pirate bag” that is locked and attached to an unmovable object on your porch.
Here are other suggestions from ADT:
- Pay for a package receiving service or a locker that can be rented.
- Require signatures for packages.
- Request that the package is not left in view.
- Have the package held at the post office.
- Get to know the delivery people.
- Ask a neighbor to grab a package.
- Upgrade your mailbox with a lockbox.
- Deliver your package to work.
- Ship to the store instead of home.
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