Telegram 'job' intercepted couriers
About 15 separate charges were filed against 34-year-old Veronika Mitina, who lives in South Florida. Doral Police reported that between August 2025 and April 2026, Mitina targeted FedEx and UPS couriers, seizing expensive packages containing Cartier watches, gold coins, and gold bars.
According to police records, one victim had ordered an $8,000 Cartier watch, another ordered two gold coins worth about $9,500, and a third ordered gold bars worth $70,000.
Approached courier in Lexus and showed address
According to the investigation file, Mitina each time approached couriers in a Lexus SUV with Illinois license plates. Showing the delivery address on her phone, she took the packages from the courier before they reached the recipient.
The incidents captured on security cameras occurred in different residential areas of Doral. Mitina was first taken into custody on June 23. Subsequently, on June 24 and 26, while she was detained at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, additional charges were filed against her.
Gave 'full confession' to police
According to Doral Police, Mitina later voluntarily went to the station and gave a "full confession," mentioning a group chat on Telegram. The indictment stated that Mitina conducted her activities through "a Telegram group chat in which she had a role," and these roles included intercepting packages from couriers.
The charges against Mitina include grand theft, participation in an organized fraud scheme, illegal use of communications devices, and dealing in stolen goods. As of June 29, she remains detained at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on $47,500 bail.
Similar case: Got job from 'Russians in America' chat
The charges against Mitina bear similarities to another case filed in May against 43-year-old Vladimir Kudyakov, a resident of Hollywood. Police alleged that Kudyakov, under a "delivery job" he found in a Telegram chat called "Russians in America," used fake IDs to take delivery of expensive FedEx packages.
In Kudyakov's case, the suspect went to a FedEx Office store in Doral to pick up a Rolex watch worth $53,500, but learned that the package had been given to someone else. According to police, the person who received the package used a fake Florida driver's license bearing the victim's personal information but Kudyakov's photo. Investigators seized a printer, vinyl adhesive paper, a laptop, and eight fake Florida driver's licenses. Kudyakov faces charges in Miami-Dade County for organized fraud, dealing in stolen goods, and identity theft.
Police emphasized that no direct link was found between the two incidents.
Security warning from shipping companies
The incidents in Doral highlight the importance of additional security measures in the delivery of high-value items such as jewelry, watches, precious metals, and electronics. FedEx recommends using the FedEx Delivery Manager service to reroute packages to delivery points or hold them at a branch. UPS says some UPS Access Point locations verify with a PIN code.
Authorities advise that if a valuable package goes missing before reaching the recipient, one should immediately contact the shipping company and seller, keep tracking information and delivery notifications, request proof of delivery, and contact police if theft is suspected.
