The case caught my eye with the headline in the Oregon Live trumpeting: “Mail theft suspect in Portland made daring 13th-floor balcony escape, later arrested” and saying that the suspect’s apartment contained ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY POSTAL KEYS! But Michael John Peters is not the type of mail thief that I am accustomed to seeing in our investigations. Most of the check thieves that DarkTower investigates are street gang members and self-proclaimed Hip Hop artists who peddle their checks in Telegram channels. I wasn’t expecting the case to be about a college-educated white male who ran an art gallery in Hawaii!
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| https://mauiguide.com/michael-john-peters/ |
On his YouTube channel, Peters tells how he “reinvented himself” during COVID, creating a painting process he calls “Four Phases Painting” which is actually quite interesting!
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| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPmWA6Y1qNE |
The Check Theft Case
This case began when the US Postal Inspection Service received complaints from a resident in the Arbor Vista apartments in Portland, Oregon that their 27-slot “cluster mailbox unit” (CBU) had been broken into and left unlocked during the night. The complex had video surveillance of a man, later identified as Michael John Peters, entering the apartment complex at 3:33 AM on May 7, 2025. He appeared to use a key to open the CBU. Several additional complexes in the area also had video surveillance of a similar looking man accessing their apartment buildings at odd hours and stealing their mail.
Photos from Arbor Vista, Collins Circle, McKenzie Lofts, Sitka Apartments, and Waterfront Pearl all appear to show the same person – a white male usually wearing a backwards baseball cap, carrying a gray backpack, and often with an electric skateboard.
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| Images from the USPIS Criminal Complaint |
Comparing the stills from video surveillance to online photos, USPIS agents believed that the man in their images was likely Michael John Peters, with matches to his Hawaiian Drivers License. A still from the video above is also included in the affidavit.
In one incident, on July 18, 2025, Peters abandons his backpack where agents found three counterfeit postal keys. One was etched with “GH” which likely referred to Goose Hollow, the neighborhood where Arbor Vista and Collins Circles housing complexes were located. Another key found later was etched “SLAB” which referred to the Slabtown neighborhood of Portland. Of high interest was the presence of a Flipper Zero in the backpack. The Affidavit from USPIS notes “which can be used to gain access to secured doors and buildings.” By laying an access card near a Flipper Zero, a digital recording of the card can be made, which can later be replayed allowing doors to be opened. (Students of mine used a proof of concept to clone campus access cards at two universities after borrowing my own Flipper Zero.)
Searching postal records, Peters address in Beaverton, Oregon was found and at least 12 packages were found in their records as having been delivered to either Mike Peters or Michael Peters at that address between October 2024 and July 2025.
A search of his criminal history showed that he had convictions from 2023 in California for “felony Possession of Identification of Ten or More Persons with Intent to Defraud” and for “Making a Fictitious Check.” He also had a 2023 conviction in Hawaii for 28 felony counts for Unauthorized Possession of Confidential Personal Information, Fraudulent Use of Credit Cards, Theft of Credit Cards, and Theft.
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| Additional Surveillance images of Peters |
Mail Theft Search Warrant Executed
On September 23rd, based on the extensive video evidence and the probable identification, a search warrant was conducted at the residence of Michael John Peters. In the US Attorney’s press release, it mentions that “In the apartment, investigators found evidence of identity theft including approximately 300 pieces of U.S. mail that were not addressed to Peters, false identification documents, stolen identity documents, and counterfeit checks.”
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| https://www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/portland-man-charged-stealing-mail |
The local media shared more interesting details … Oregon Live’s telling of the story says:
Peters was arraigned on September 24th and is now in custody pending trial following a detention hearing where he was described as a “serious flight risk” citing an outstanding warrant, a substance abuse problem, and his prior criminal history.
