Photo for Headline Surfer / NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Some residents near New Smyrna Beach had been relying on the services of one particular mailman for several years and had developed a trusting relationship with him.
But Randell Holley, 67, stood accused in August of using that trust to essentially steal from his customers in a scheme that goes back to at least 2010.
Volusia County Sheriff's investigators arrested Holley Aug. 8, and charged him with organized scheme to defraud.
The alleged criminal activity lodged against the mailman comes in at No. 67 in the Headline Surfer® countdown of the top 100 stories of 2013.
"According to more than a dozen of his customers who investigators have recently spoken with, Holley had a simple and consistent method of getting some quick cash when he felt he needed it," Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said.
Residents said Holley would only ask for small amounts of money, between $20 and $60. Despite the odd hour of 2 or 4 a.m., the residents trusted him because they recognized him as their mailman and most of them leant him the cash, Haught said.
Holley offered to repay the money, but only did so on two occasions. One customer who Holley had approached decided not to lend him the money. However, she then noticed that some items would get lost in the mail, such as an i-Pod. Another customer accepted Holley's repayment by check, but the check turned out to be no good because it was written against a closed bank account.
These incidents and others like them dating all the way back to 2010 went unreported, likely because of the small amounts of money involved, the sheriff's spokesman said.
"Then in July of this year a customer reported Holley's activity to the Sheriff's Office and the investigation at that time resulted in his arrest for petty theft and obtaining property by fraud for that one incident," Haught said.
Holley was accused of waking the victim up at 4:40 a.m. and telling her that a broken down car needed to be towed. Furthermore, he claimed that his son delivered her daily newspaper and needed the subscription fees that she owed to help pay for that tow. The victim later learned that the entire story, including the part about the son delivering newspapers, was false, Haught said.
Holley bonded out of jail the day after that arrest. However, Holley's arrest was covered in the local news. Yet another victim had leant him money the week before his arrest but then saw the news and decided to report what had happened to her to the Sheriff's Office.
"Holley had awakened her at 3 a.m. and asked for money to pay for a tow, which she gave him," Haught said. "This led to Sheriff's Office investigators working in partnership with a special agent from the U.S. Postal Service to uncover at least 15 instances of possible fraud involving Holley.
One case involved customers helping Holley purchase a motor home in 2010. He had promised to make payments to them but instead gave them a bad check, the Sheriff's spokesman said.
With the long list of unhappy customers in hand, investigators determined that Holley was engaged in a long term scheme to defraud customers and arrested him at his New Smyrna Beach apartment.
Haught added that during a subsequent interview, Holley said that he had borrowed money in the past, but claimed that he had paid them all back.His case is pending in court and is presumed innocent until or unless convicted.
Counting 'em down: Headline Surfer® Ranking of the Top 100 Stories of 2013
67. NSB mailman charged with defrauding customers
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69. Christmas on Canal in NSB draws sparse crowd
70. Dolphin washes ashore in Ormond Beach
71. Daytona Beach drug dealer gets 10 years in prison as 'habitual felony offender'
72. Decomposing body found in DeBary that of woman reported missing two weeks earlier
73. Apopka man arrested on kiddie porn charges
74. Daytona State ranked 35th nationally among community colleges in awarding 2-year degrees
75. Norman Church wins 2013 Lipton Cup Regatta in New Smyrna Beach
76. State Rep. Dwayne Taylor receives award at firefighter conference in Daytona Beach
77. Georgia man drowns in Ormond Beach surf July Fourth weekend
78. Apopka teen backing up SUV in family driveway hits toddler who wandered outside -- killing her
79. Hernando County judge elevated to Tavares-based 5th circuit judgeship
80. New Smyrna Beach cops: Cocaine dealer shot in ankle during robbery
81. Stetson University in DeLand ranked prominently by US News & World Report, two other publications
82. Kissimmee man sentenced to five years in prison for downloading kiddie porn
83. Gov. Scott takes part in Patriot Day celebration at high school in St. Johns County
84. Day-long problems with E911 calls at Daytona emergency operations center back in September
85. St. Augustine man gets 35 years in prison for scaring elderly woman & her dog with air pistol in robbery attempt
86. WROD-Radio's Tracy Dillon shines morning spotlight on food drive
87. Harvick wins Sprint Unlimited under lights at Daytona
88. Sheriff: Nearly 5 dozen guns turned in during one-day amnesty at DeLand fairgrounds
89. Daytona State College foreign-languages chair honored
90. Daytona Beach cops: Pedestrian struck & killed by motorist trying to cross ISB two days before Thanksgiving
91. Orange City man sentenced to prison for shooting own brother
92. Seminole County Sheriff's helicopter looks for nighttime prowler in Lake Mary
93. Ponce Inlet turns to 'CodeRed' for mass alerts
94. DeLand man, 60, sentenced to life in prison for sexually battering 11-year-old boy
95. Volusia County GOP leader Tony Ledbetter named to key Florida Republican post
96. New Smyrna cop shop has first father-son on force.jpg){kind=small}
97. Baltimore Ravens LB Ray Lewis waves green flag to start 2013 Daytona 500
98. Governor pays respects to 82-year-old Congressman in Orlando
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