Busted: USPS Worker Steals over 2000 GameFly Games
Busted: USPS Worker Steals over 2000 GameFly Games
October 16, 2009
A United States Postal worker has admitted in federal court that he stole 2,200 videogames addressed to Philadelphia-area GameFly customers.
Reginald Johnson, 34, was busted as the result of a surveillance mission that used test mailings after reports of missing GameFly mailings in the area reports Philly.com. When federal agents swooped in on Johnson in September of 2008, they found a total of 160 GameFly mailers in his SUV along with a slew of other game merchandise and GameStop receipts.
Johnson, a mail processing clerk at the USPS processing and distribution center, was apparently trading the stolen games in to GameStop for store credit.
GameFly is currently embroiled in battle with the USPS over what it considers preferential treatment for Netflix and Blockbuster.
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Posted 11/20/09 at 05:42pm
ZippyDSMlee: oh may the cute stab out your eyes, http://www.youtube.com/user/simonscat
ZippyDSMlee: oh may the cute stab out your eyes, http://www.youtube.com/user/simonscat
Posted 11/20/09 at 05:17pm
JDKJ: O.K. Suit yourself. But when you're wearing Ray-Bans, sitting on a curb with a white cane and a cup of pencils, and doing Stevie Wonder impersonations, don't say I didn't warn you.
JDKJ: O.K. Suit yourself. But when you're wearing Ray-Bans, sitting on a curb with a white cane and a cup of pencils, and doing Stevie Wonder impersonations, don't say I didn't warn you.
Posted 11/20/09 at 05:10pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:No thank you I don;t want your cooties...or STDs...
ZippyDSMlee: JD:No thank you I don;t want your cooties...or STDs...
Posted 11/20/09 at 05:01pm
JDKJ: Me. I'm rehearsing the role just in case I do get dubbed Zippy The Soecnda.
JDKJ: Me. I'm rehearsing the role just in case I do get dubbed Zippy The Soecnda.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:59pm
DarkSaber: Wait, is that meant to be Zippy, me or you?
DarkSaber: Wait, is that meant to be Zippy, me or you?
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:49pm
JDKJ: I cud caer lez. =^^= *wakes up in mid-afternoon after staying up until 3:00AM soldering resistors on to circuit boards, stumbles around in formerly white but now grey underwear, while simultaneously scratching groin with vigor and making coffee*
JDKJ: I cud caer lez. =^^= *wakes up in mid-afternoon after staying up until 3:00AM soldering resistors on to circuit boards, stumbles around in formerly white but now grey underwear, while simultaneously scratching groin with vigor and making coffee*
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:46pm
DarkSaber: knell? Don't you mean Neil? Anymore of tht and I'll dub thee Zippy The Soecnda
DarkSaber: knell? Don't you mean Neil? Anymore of tht and I'll dub thee Zippy The Soecnda
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:44pm
JDKJ: Now, now, Saber. Don't be salty. You weren't the first one to knell and bob and you ain't gonna be the last one, either.
JDKJ: Now, now, Saber. Don't be salty. You weren't the first one to knell and bob and you ain't gonna be the last one, either.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:42pm
DarkSaber: JD's feeling rather desperate it seems.
DarkSaber: JD's feeling rather desperate it seems.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:33pm
JDKJ: C'mon, Zip. You already touch yourself way too much. Spread the love. Before you go blind.
JDKJ: C'mon, Zip. You already touch yourself way too much. Spread the love. Before you go blind.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:27pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:No and I ain't touching any part of you or your friends!! :P
ZippyDSMlee: JD:No and I ain't touching any part of you or your friends!! :P
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:25pm
JDKJ: @Zip: You know Lik Mitaint?
JDKJ: @Zip: You know Lik Mitaint?
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:18pm
ZippyDSMlee: neill and bob,oldest giveing head joke and most lamest...
ZippyDSMlee: neill and bob,oldest giveing head joke and most lamest...
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:18pm
JDKJ: But thanks for the memory. MIB's a classic. *sings* "Here come the Men in Black. Galaxy defenders. Here come the Men in Black. They won't let you remember."
JDKJ: But thanks for the memory. MIB's a classic. *sings* "Here come the Men in Black. Galaxy defenders. Here come the Men in Black. They won't let you remember."
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:18pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:for the record I told you you can suck your own dck.
ZippyDSMlee: JD:for the record I told you you can suck your own dck.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:07pm
JDKJ: Naw, man. That's Mueedeegiaap and Bob. And you can stop bobbing. I got Zippy bobbing now, too.
JDKJ: Naw, man. That's Mueedeegiaap and Bob. And you can stop bobbing. I got Zippy bobbing now, too.
Posted 11/20/09 at 03:56pm
DarkSaber: OH I get it now! It's Men In Black quote! The twins that run the comm centre in HQ.
DarkSaber: OH I get it now! It's Men In Black quote! The twins that run the comm centre in HQ.
Posted 11/20/09 at 03:49pm
JDKJ: I'd like to introduce you to them. First, Neil. Then, Bob.
JDKJ: I'd like to introduce you to them. First, Neil. Then, Bob.
Posted 11/20/09 at 03:47pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:I know they are intimate friends of yours...
ZippyDSMlee: JD:I know they are intimate friends of yours...
Posted 11/20/09 at 03:44pm
JDKJ: @Zip: You know Neil and Bob?
JDKJ: @Zip: You know Neil and Bob?
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Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
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Comments
He wasn't even making money on this! STORE CREDIT??? So, you're going to steal, with the possibility of jail, so you can...make enough store credit to buy a copy of Uncharted 2? Genius...
I think the Fable 2 / Gears 2 theft was better, as it was being done at the manufacturing plant.
The store credit does have a cash value. Which he could discount and then sell to someone else who does want to use it to buy a copy of Uncharted 2. He may actually come out further ahead that way than he would hawking his stolen merchandise on a street corner. And unless he's some sort of complusive video game collector, what's his need for store credit on over 2000 video games if not for the purpose of selling those store credits on a black market?
Jeez, dude. A game or two, here and there, you probably would have gotten away with. But 2200? What an idiot.
These are the same types of dudes who will make up the buerocracy running health care soon too.
Just sayin'...
Bullshit. What they gonna do, steal plasters?
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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
They'll steal anything that ain't nailed to the floor.
USPS maybe. But what's an office clerk gonna steal, forms? Steal free health-care from a system set up to provide free health-care?
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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
How about stealing money out of people's bank accounts, which, under the last solid health care 'reform' bill I saw, would be available to those pencil pushers. How about selling identities and credit card information? There's a myriad of options for thievery in this new system, and when you consider the people that'll be running it, its not very reassuring.
People like you?
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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
There is 'a myriad of options for thievery' inherient in any given system.
Yeah,but as long as its YOUR system, it doesnt matter.
At least thats how corporate America views things.
So Im guessing GameStop has to give those 2200 games back now... Possibly related to their CEO dumping millions in stock?
That would be reasonable, and it is very likely that GameFly and/or GameStop has a record of all the games that were stolen, so this shouldn't take too long.
"That's not ironic. That's justice."
THIS is stealing, not piracy.
criadordejogos.wordpress.com
Care to take a shot at explaining the difference? Most content providers insist there is none.
----
Papa Midnight
http://www.thesupersoldiers.com
I'm not supporting that statement, but I can give a shot at what those people would call the difference between pirating and stealing.
Pirating: Stealing with the intent of simply using the content (playing the game) for their own benefit (enjoyment) without compensating the maker.
"Stealing" (in this case): Stealing with the expectancy to do two-fold economic damage, without compensating the maker AND the retailer by selling it to turn a profit for himself. Basically, a Trafficker. Maker > stealer > chump who buys bootleg. The "Pirate" stops at stealer.
Of course and based on the difference you draw between "pirate" and "stealer," there's absolutely no difference from the maker's perspective. In the case of both, the maker is left uncompensated.
Although the same could be said for a second-hand sale....
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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
. . . with the important distinction that the maker was compensated for the first-hand sale as opposed to begin completely without any compensation whatsoever.
I agree with you 100%. I'm not arguing, but I was simply pointing out that, from the tech-savvy kid who thinks everything should be free, there is a distint overall economical difference between the pirating and stealing; although, the content maker does not see a difference as he is screwed regardless.
And DS, I'm surprised, I thought you would know better than calling a used game in the same vein as a pirated game.
Don't be surprised. DS has recently been exhibiting a marked propensity towards inability to distinguish between an apple and an orange.
I don't think the difference between theft and piracy has to do with whether you intend to sell the product, it has to do with the method you acquire it. If I remember correctly...
Piracy: Something is gotten via copying data or similar methods, and the original owner of the product doesn't actually lose any physical copies of the product. Thus, while the people who pirated the product have gotten ahold of the game or whatever without paying for it, the people who made it still have all the disks and data and stuff that they always did, and can still sell such things to legitimate customers.
Stealing: Something is gotten by actually stealing it physically. Thus, the original owner has a direct loss now that is more than just a "potential sale." Not only did the people who stole the product get it without paying, there is now less of the product available to sell to legitimate customers.
Generally, a lot of people view stealing as worse than piracy because not only are you taking something without paying for it, you are also depriving the creator of his property.
this IMHO is why they need to stop taking half beaten un boxed and outright probably stolen games at gamestop.
i can understand maybe PSP or DS games, but 360, PS3, and Wii games should nearly always be in the original case, maybe missing the booklets, but at least in the case.
2,200? How'd it get to be that many? Assuming he's managed to trade a good chunk of it in, with that many, he's probably have traded in the same game multiple times. On top of that, 2,200 is a *lot*of games, even if he somehow didn't have duplicates, isn't somebody going to find it weird that he's been showing up to trade in games often and/or trading huge batches of games at once? Shouldn't he have been cought before he could steal that much? Unless he was scouring all the GameStops in the area to avoid running into the same people. Would that even work?
And I'm not even taking into account all the stuff that could of happened on GameFly's side of things...
I think all your questions (which are all good questions) can be answered by GrimCW's observation (posted above) that GameStop probably knows that many of the games it accepts on trade-in are stolen. But I assume they do it anyway because it's profitable for them to stick their heads in the sand and act like they have no clue about what's happening.
As a game fly subscriber, i want them to really use this to lay the hammer on USPS and force them to treat there mail better. I've lost several games to USPS suckage, not to mention OTHER items that were lost due to them being idiots.
Yukimurais still here. "When he's at his best, he's little less then a man, and when he's at his worst, he's little more then a beast." W.S
Nice to see real thifes get light sentances and fake ones get more....
Until lobbying is a hanging offense I choose anarchy! Stop supporting big media and furthering the criminalization of consumers!! http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/
lol 2,200 I mean 2 games here and there but damn over 2000 I wonder how he ever managed to find the time to play any of them working for the post office, and another thing that catches me, why was he trading them in at gamestop for store credit? he already has the games but w/e he got caught and it looks like he will get whatever's coming for him.