In a tale that sounds as though it was ripped from the plot of a crime thriller novel, a Memphis-based FedEx employee found himself at the center of an audacious heist involving stolen goods that glittered quite literally with deception. Meet Antwone Tate, a former member of the FedEx team, who seemingly interpreted his job description to include “helping himself” to other people’s packages. The communal chortle? He thought using his ID for dodgy dealings wouldn’t backfire.
The escapade began to unravel on May 27, when the company’s Loss Prevention team at the FedEx Memphis Hub started putting two and two together. The sum of all fears materialized when an investigation was launched into the mysterious disappearance of several shipments. Instead of finding a mere mix-up in sorting, they followed a breadcrumb trail paved with twinkling jewels and currency-wrapped temptations straight to a pawn shop. There, under the shop’s fluorescent glow, lay a $8,500 diamond ring and nearly $14,000 in gold bars, bearing Tate’s invisible fingerprints—and his visible driver’s license.
But this glittering path of greed didn’t end there. Not one to be confined to the classics of karats and carats, Tate had his sights on cardboard dreams—specifically, those cherished by baseball memorabilia collectors. A third vanishing package was revealed to contain a treasure trove of nostalgia-inducing baseball cards. High on this wistful list were a 1915 Cracker Jack Chief Bender and a 1933 Goudey Sport Kings Ty Cobb. Collectors might recognize them as white whales whose combined worth floated around a tidy $6,800.
The digital landscape held yet another clue to Tate’s indiscretions. Turns out, authorities discovered the cards were being hawked on eBay under the guise of an account named antta_57. Procrastination has never been so costly, as the investigators linked the account straight back to Tate, who now might reconsider his choice of aliases in any future business ventures.
To say this web of wealth and wile didn’t end well for our protagonist would be an understatement. Charged with theft of property for his bold, albeit poorly executed, triple theft, Tate’s story took a swift dive from corporate conspiracy to cautionary tale. Displaying no trace of sentimentality in their response, FedEx, who have firmly pushed the eject button on his employment contract, released a statement underscoring their stance that their “employees’ handbook” contains no addendum for pirating packages.
While Tate juggled this precarious pyramid scheme of packages, the moral of the story wasn’t lost on the public. The irony of a FedEx employee creating his own express delivery of ill-gotten gains piqued both curiosity and a few giggles. As he navigates the legal ramifications of his package repurposing, the rest of us are left to wonder about the unraveling saga yet to come.
This episode might serve as a deft reminder to those who trust their precious parcels to transit: remember, digital finds can lead to digital prisons. So next time the app updates with ‘out for delivery’ and the package appearance starts to resemble a vanishing act, eBay might just be your first stop. One thing’s for sure: no one will be rushing to place bids on items listed by antta_58 anytime soon.
In the swirling kinetic dance of parcels and lettered bays, the world of shipping spins on, casting sundry items from one end of the earth to the other. And though occasionally that orbit falters due to delinquent diversions like Tate’s dastardly detours, it’s comforting, if not slightly chuckle-inducing, to know that sometimes justice—like your package—is only a few clicks away.
