Over 2000 GameFly games stolen by USPS worker
by Richard Mitchell 
{ Oct 16th 2009 at 3:00PM }
Johnson was caught as the result of an investigation into missing GameFly mailings in the Philadelphia area, conducted by the USPS inspector general. The culprit was spotted during a 2008 test mailing under government surveillance, after which Johnson escaped in his SUV, crashed it, and then fled on foot with a duffel bag, which was later recovered. Between the bag and the SUV, authorities uncovered 160 games and a load of Wii Fit units, controllers, a Playstation and GameStop receipts. It would appear that Johnson had been trading the games at GameStop for store credit. He now faces up to 18 months in prison.
When contacted by Joystiq for comment, a GameFly representative stated that the company appreciates "the diligent efforts by the Office of Inspector General agents" to apprehend Mr. Johnson. Do you hear that? It's the sound of healing.
[Via GamePolitics]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Neuromancer @ Oct 16th 2009 3:04PM
Wow sounds like a really good (and interesting) case by the Postal Service. Hope he's enjoying his new meat job.
jekoln @ Oct 16th 2009 4:08PM
is that what they call prison now?
chris @ Oct 16th 2009 3:05PM
I didnt get a game a couple time after it said it was shipped.. had to report it and they resent..wonder if my postman was stealing games?
Brother Daz @ Oct 16th 2009 3:05PM
Thats where my f***ing games have been going...
TherionMEC @ Oct 16th 2009 8:43PM
I share the same sentiment, as someone who has had Gamefly games stolen by USPS, I hope this guy gets what he deserves.
The Dark Wayne [Planeteer: Power of the Batusi] @ Oct 16th 2009 3:05PM
Your games still ship slow as fuck though!
The Dark Wayne [Planeteer: Power of the Batusi] @ Oct 16th 2009 3:05PM
and stop sending me the last on my list!
whylekat @ Oct 16th 2009 3:18PM
Christ amen to that!
That's why I canceled my gamesnail service. I'd ship 1 game on Monday and get my next game almost 10 days later! Sometimes longer!
More then once I had to contact support
"uh, I mailed this shitty gamecube game back like a week ago and my que has yet to update...?"
I swear the response I got was something along the lines of "give it two more days, if your que doesn't update by then contact us and we'll label it lost in the mail."
Meanwhile with Netflix, I'll mail it Monday from NYC and get a fresh movie Tuesday or Wednesday the latest.
EGOvoruhk @ Oct 16th 2009 3:24PM
@whylekat
You sometimes get your movies the day after mailing it? Does your mailman walk it to Netflix on the same day or what?
whylekat @ Oct 16th 2009 3:30PM
Whoops meant Tuesday or Wednesday the latest!
whylekat @ Oct 16th 2009 3:34PM
Wait dammit I wrote it right the first time!
Yes. I mail them from my office in NYC between 6-7am on a Monday and sometimes I will get the new flick the very next day =P
whylekat @ Oct 16th 2009 3:37PM
And before I hear any flack... It's a huge corporate building In the medical field so I guess they're pretty prompt about their mailing services.
Dadidito @ Oct 16th 2009 3:49PM
Im in NYC and I send them from Grand Central Post office before I go to work and I have a number of times had a movie on the next day at home... normally its 1 day out one day back. Gamefly was horrible in comparison.
Vidikron @ Oct 16th 2009 3:49PM
"and stop sending me the last on my list!"
Hah... I keep my list empty except for maybe a few unreleased games as reminders. And I always make sure I have an empty slot before a new release. This has yet to fail me. I always get the first shipment of any new release no matter how big.
Vcize @ Oct 16th 2009 3:53PM
Vidi, that's what I've always done also, though it's started failing me lately.
All I had in my queue was UC2, yet I watched Oct 13th go by with still not word of it shipping to me.
Vidikron @ Oct 16th 2009 3:54PM
So far so good for me, though I actually did buy Uncharted 2.
Vcize @ Oct 16th 2009 3:55PM
I did too. I put the money I saved canceling gamefly towards it today ;)
Odog4ever @ Oct 16th 2009 4:17PM
@ whylekat
Gamefly definitely has it's flaws but have you considered:
Gamefly only has 4-5 distribution centers and Netflix has a distribution center(s) in every state just about. Also the price of DVDs compared to the price of games. High demand for a finite amount of discs = long wait. Also I don't have any games in my queue that I don't want to play, period. It takes like 10 seconds to re-order your queue online after you send a game back.
I think Gamefly is still a good option for gamers on a budget who only purchase a couple games a year. I've played a ton of games I enjoyed but would have never purchased which puts the sometimes lengthy wait times in perspective for me personally.
The Dark Wayne [Planeteer: Power of the Batusi] @ Oct 16th 2009 4:38PM
but gamefly's been around just as long as netflix hasnt it? They should have more shipping centers by now.
whylekat @ Oct 16th 2009 4:47PM
Netflix I think had a 1-2 year head start.
whylekat @ Oct 16th 2009 4:54PM
I agree it's worth it for some. But not myself.
1st off I had the 1 game at a time deal.. So that meant when I send a game back I was left with 0 games for almost 2 weeks... When you're paying a monthly fee and have no product for half that month, it's not worth it.
And 2nd - the que never bothered me, I'd mostly use the service for any game I wouldn't pay for but wanted to at least try. So I rarely, if ever, had a problem with a game being unavailable.
whylekat @ Oct 16th 2009 4:58PM
According to wiki:
netflix founded 1997
gamefly founded 2002
Jacob @ Oct 16th 2009 8:18PM
Wow, 10 days? The longest time I've had to wait for a game was 4 days, but usually it's here in two.
Shagittarius @ Oct 16th 2009 3:08PM
Wait since he played video games shouldn't his reaction to have been shooting up the post office?
oOWallaceOo @ Oct 16th 2009 3:29PM
I think him going postal would have been a little too cliche
Ryan @ Oct 16th 2009 3:08PM
18 months for $86000?
Thats it?
Unless its 'Pound you in the ass Prison', then I guess 18 months of rape is time enough.
LegendaryRedass @ Oct 16th 2009 3:10PM
Cause nobody would notice 2000 disks missing, on the same route. Dumbass.
Ryan @ Oct 16th 2009 3:22PM
@ LegendaryRedass
Go RTFA.
He's facing up to 18 months for stealing $86000 in stock. Not taking 18 months to steal $86000 in stock.
Dumbass.
whylekat @ Oct 16th 2009 3:23PM
Yeah I was gonna make a fresh post regaurding that...
Honestly, 18 months seems a little light..? If it were 18 months + a huge dollar amount fine it'd make more sense to me.
LegendaryRedass @ Oct 16th 2009 3:28PM
Sorry Ryan, that wasn't meant to be a reply to you. That was supposed to be a standalone comment. I don't randomly call people names either.
Ryan @ Oct 16th 2009 3:32PM
No worries man.
Im sorry too.
*group hug*
LegendaryRedass @ Oct 16th 2009 3:39PM
It's cool Ryan, I felt bad. I'm just glad I read through the comments again.
whylekat @ Oct 16th 2009 3:44PM
You two have wayy too much free time. =P go play a video game or something.
Stephen @ Oct 16th 2009 5:15PM
"Cause nobody would notice 2000 disks missing, on the same route. Dumbass. "
According to the post, this guy was a mail handler, NOT a carrier. Mail handlers would have access to the mail that would be sent out to his entire district, which could be hundreds of miles in size and hundreds of routes.
The thing that caught him would be the users who reported it. A spike in the number of shipping complaints in a specific area let the inspectors target the district it was occurring in and from there it was a matter of watching and sending test shipments.
BananaBoat @ Oct 16th 2009 6:29PM
Let's all group hug
Special Agent Steve @ Oct 17th 2009 3:20PM
*hug*
.... who's touching my thigh?
Roncore @ Oct 16th 2009 3:09PM
so thats where my games went!
Courtney @ Oct 16th 2009 3:09PM
I remember similar reports earlier in Netflix's life about DVDs, though I can see how games would be more tempting as they are typically worth more.
seanemac007 @ Oct 16th 2009 3:11PM
Anyone remember GameFly's old envelopes? The ones that were all orange (instead of the white with orange)?
My games were constantly not arriving so I sent a letter to GameFly suggesting they stop using those envelopes that screamed "Hi, I am worth $40-$60 dollars, regardless of what is inside. Steal me now." Attractive nuisance, anyone?
"...regardless of what is inside..." Ok, I know. I rented some crappy games. But on the average, probably worth an a-hole's time to steal.
Duke @ Oct 16th 2009 3:13PM
"Attractive nuisance, anyone?"
Uh, that doesn't quite fit.
seanemac007 @ Oct 16th 2009 3:21PM
Duke -
I just relate these kinds of "PLEASE STEAL ME" situations to dangerous places that seem so wrong that they seem to invite kids who don't know better to come and play. Attractive nuisances. Like those electrical stations that have just a metal fence around them and look like a jungle gym. Or an unfinished swimming pool. Things that scream "Hi. It's wrong, but play with me anyway, regardless if its wrong."
Admittedly, does not quite fit, but the idea is there when you look at it from GameFly, and the consumer's points of view.
Kalenn @ Oct 16th 2009 3:30PM
@seanemac007
Can't say I know too many kids that see electrical enclosures or construction sites and think "I should climb that"
whylekat @ Oct 16th 2009 3:59PM
I was definetly one of those kids.. So were all my friends. Maybe it's a suburban thing? Sadly a lot of childhood physical activity was spent ventureing thru an abandoned mental hospital. Totally awesome! I'd go back today but I'm now too big to fit thru many of the openings I did pre-puberty. Ahh childhood =)
Duke @ Oct 16th 2009 4:21PM
Kalenn, you would be shocked (pun!) but in reality there are a lot of items that kids see and think would be fun to mess with that in fact are not. So if you have something like that (say a swimming pool or an abandoned house) then you can find them ruled an attractive nuisance.
Kalenn @ Oct 16th 2009 3:14PM
Maybe I'm not hardcore enough, but...
WTF would you do with $86,000 in GameStop credits???
dark_inchworm (stronger than never, ever before) @ Oct 16th 2009 3:16PM
Be the hero that places so many pre-orders that they never hassle another customer about it again.
Marshall Banana @ Oct 16th 2009 3:17PM
More like what would you do with the 800 dollars you would get for trading in all those games at Gamestop?
tmacairjordan87 @ Oct 16th 2009 3:17PM
The games were worth $86,000...which means you'd get maybe $10,000 at Gamestop if you were lucky.
OMGOMG @ Oct 16th 2009 3:17PM
ALL THE GOLD GUNS FOR DARK VOID YOU CAN HANDLE, THAT'S WHAT.
Neuromancer @ Oct 16th 2009 3:18PM
Preoder Halo 9 and CoD:MW7.