Devon & Cornwall Police News site

A fraudster former postman has been jailed for a number of offences including stealing mail and using the contents of the post to carry out further frauds.

John McKinney, 42, formerly of the Newquay area, appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentence on Thursday 14 November after pleading guilty to making a false statement to obtain a driving licence, possession of an identity document with intent to deceive, perverting the course of justice, theft of mail, theft of a Rolex watch, two frauds by false representation and two counts of making an untrue statement to procure a passport.

He was sentenced to 38 months in prison by Judge Robert Linford.

The court heard how McKinney worked as a postman in Truro between September 2023 and May 2024 and how some of his crimes relate to the theft of mail (including cheque books from three elderly victims, a driving licence, and a credit card).

The stolen items were then used to carry out more frauds. With the cheque books McKinney paid himself more than £9,000 of cheque deposits.

McKinney was also convicted of possessing an identification with improper intent – namely a false driving licence used to open multiple bank accounts.

McKinney was arrested in September 2024 shortly after coming back into the UK from Ireland. He has been on remand since charge.

The offences

Making a false statement to obtain a driving licence and possession of an identity document with improper intent

In September 2019 McKinney applied for a UK provisional driving licence using the name of another man. The application was submitted along with a HMRC tax code notice letter and a copy birth certificate, as well as McKinney’s own picture.

Further enquiries showed that the provisional licence holder sat a full driving test in February 2020. The vehicle used in the test was a rental car which records showed had been hired by McKinney in his own name.

The driving licence in another man’s name used by McKinney was used to obtain a fraudulent car loan and set-up bank accounts to launder money from stolen cheque books.

Perverting the course of justice.

In January 2022 a BMW registered to McKinney committed a speeding offence on the A30 at Roseworthy. A notice sent to the defendant was returned nominating the same victim from the previous set of offending, giving his driver’s number.

Stealing mail belonging to another and fraud by false representation

In September 2023 McKinney was employed by Royal Mail as a postman. He left their employment in May 2024.

During this period he delivered mail to an area of Truro and intercepted three cheque books from the postal system.

Cheques were mainly made out to the name of initial identity fraud victim and paid into an account McKinney had opened using his name.

Between 23 and 28 December a number of deposits were made containing multiple cheques from the stolen cheque books. Four of the deposits were in Cornwall and one in Kent. McKinney’s mother lived in Kent and enquiries revealed that he had travelled there during this time period.

The judge described this aspect of the offending and most enormous breach of trust.

Theft of a Rolex watch

On 2 January 2024 McKinney entered a jewellery shop in Penzance where he pawned a Rolex watch for £2,500.

McKinney bought the watch in Plymouth using the name of a man whose replacement driving licence he had intercepted. He paid for it using a credit card belonging to a woman who then received a notification from Natwest saying that she was nearing her credit card limit. She never received the credit card through the post.

McKinney returned to the shop two months later and asked to see the watch. When staff opened the case for him, it was empty. Staff suspect that when McKinney initially pawned the watch, he used a sleight of hand tactic to take the watch while staff were distracted, leaving with the watch and the money.

After the shop reported the theft to police, McKinney also called the police asking for the victim to be changed from the shop to himself.

When arrested, McKinney was found to be wearing the exact same watch.

Making an untrue statement to procure a passport

Enquiries have established that McKinney fraudulently applied for two UK passports using the names of others, but with his own picture.

Both offences were detected. One of the passports was revoked and the other application rejected, but despite this, McKinney still used one of them to open numerous bank accounts in that person’s name.

Fraud by false representation

McKinney also collected a new car from a Cornwall dealership after entering a finance agreement using the primary stolen identity.

A deposit for the vehicle was found to have come from the stolen identity account. However, further examination shows that money was transferred from McKinney’s own account into the fraudulent account, allowing the deposit to be made.

Further money moved from McKinney’s account to the stolen identity account so that payments could be met. Although the car was obtained using a stolen identity, the only person insured to drive it was McKinney.

McKinney was stopped driving the vehicle in the Newquay area in March 2024, with a search of the vehicle revealing a cheque book and cheque card for the fraudulent account and items of Royal Mail uniform.

Officer in the case, DC Jane Bickley said: “We welcome the sentence given to John McKinney at Truro Crown Court. His offending came to light as a result of driving offences.

“McKinney’s offences demonstrate a high degree of sophistication. He showed no regard for the victims from who he stole from along the way. They have been left to pick up the pieces after McKinney’s offending – initially unknown to them – came to light.

“This case has involved working with HM Passport Agency, HMRC, the DVLA, the DVSA and numerous banks and financial institutions.

“The offences came to light as a result of McKinney’s motoring offences. Our Road Safety Team Investigation team work tirelessly to crack down on criminality stemming from road traffic offences, in support of the Vision Zero South West aims.

“This case has included extensive financial enquiries and shows that no matter how complex the fraud, we will investigate it and bring offenders to justice.”

Victim care

If you have been affected by crime, please visit Home - Victim Care Devon & Cornwall (victimcare-dc.org) to access support services and information on your rights and how to navigate the criminal justice system. You can also call Victim Support on 08 08 16 89 111 or Devon and Cornwall Police’s Victim Care Unit on 01392 475900.