2 sentenced for Twin Cities mail theft scheme

Two St. Paul-area men have been sentenced to federal prison in connection to a mail theft scheme.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said 32-year-old Sonny Vang Xiong, of Maplewood, and 36-year-old Davis Her, of St. Paul, each pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail theft. Her also pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Xiong was sentenced to three years (36 months) in prison and Her was sentenced to 6 1/2 years (78 months) in prison.

Court documents state the two men conspired with others to steal mail and packages from post offices, apartment complexes and mailboxes from at least August 2020 through November 2020. The attorney’s office said the men often used stolen postal keys, pry bars and other tools to steal mail, and would look for checks, money orders, identification documents, credit cards and other valuable items. They then used the stolen checks and money orders to create fraudulent checks and falsified money orders.