Felony Traffic Stop Leads to Arrest of Serial Mail Theft Suspect

Houston, TX – On August 27, 2025, United States postal inspectors, with assistance from the Sugar Land, TX, Police Department (SLPD) and the Major Offenders Division of the Houston Police Department (HPD), arrested mail theft and fraud suspect Johnny Minh Cao while he was driving near the University of Houston Sugar Land campus in Fort Bend County.

A traffic stop led officers to identify Cao, whom postal inspectors have linked to several other mail theft incidents in recent months, each tied to a large fraud criminal network. With assistance from SLPD Criminal Investigation Division and HPD Major Offenders Division detectives, postal inspectors investigated this mail theft ring involving multiple suspects who stole mail to commit various financial crimes, including retail theft, forgery, and money laundering.

At the time of Cao’s arrest, he possessed stolen mail containing personally identifiable information, 19 credit debit cards with an estimated credit value of more than $53,000, a Social Security card, multiple Texas driver’s licenses and other forms of stolen identification, a fake Texas driver’s license, 10 counterfeit Postal Service arrow keys, and tools consistent with the manufacturing of counterfeit Postal Service arrow keys.

Upon his arrest, Cao was booked into the Fort Bend County Jail and charged with second-degree felony fraud use and possession of identifying information, third-degree tampering with a government document, and thirddegree unlawful possession and manufacturing of a criminal instrument.

This investigation is ongoing, and additional charges are forthcoming. It is important to note that criminal charges are only allegations against a person. Every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.