RALEIGH, N.C. — Dozens of victims have been taken for thousands of dollars in a crime ring that stole identities from mailboxes in the area.

Wake County authorities say they have the man responsible.

Investigators say Robert Bost is the point man in the identity theft ring. Bost is in the Wake County jail awaiting his court appearance today.

Detectives say his network of thieves had easy access to personal check information -- by reaching into mailboxes.

Robert Creech was a victim of the crime. He usually spends his extra time restoring old clocks and the semi-retiree mails his check payments in the morning.

He hasn't had a problem, until recently.

"The letter from the bank said my checking account was delinquent," Creech said. "At least four checks were bad at that particular time."

That's because Creech had his personal information stolen -- right out of his mailbox.

Investigators say he's one of nearly two dozen people defrauded throughout Wake County.

"It's kind of frightening because we mail checks often," Creech said.

Investigators say Bost of Atlanta paid people to raid mail boxes all over southern Wake County.

"He would manufacture and distribute counterfeit checks bearing the bank account information of the victims," said Al Sternberg of the Wake County Sheriff's Office.

Police arrested Bost Wednesday morning at RDU International airport. Detectives say his identify theft web spans several counties and possibly other states.

After producing those bogus checks, investigators say Bost and his crew would go on shopping sprees all over Wake County buying merchandise and then returning it for cash.

Authorities say they expect more arrests stemming from this case.