Key Takeaways
- Haneef Palmer, a former Meek Mill associate, received a 121-month federal prison sentence for helping steal more than $1.5 million in cargo from Philadelphia tractor-trailers.
- The crew targeted crab legs, televisions and commercial refrigerators, then grabbed about $230,000 in dimes from a U.S. Mint shipment during Philadelphia’s viral “coin caper.”
- Palmer pleaded guilty to multiple robbery and theft charges and must serve three years of supervised release and pay more than $1.08 million in restitution.
A Philadelphia man once associated with Meek Mill will spend more than a decade in federal prison for his role in a $1.5 million cargo-theft operation that stole frozen crab legs, televisions, commercial refrigerators—and $230,000 worth of dimes.
According to the Department of Justice, Haneef Palmer, 33, also known as “Lew,” was sentenced to 121 months in prison by U.S. District Chief Judge Wendy Beetlestone earlier this month. Palmer was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $1,080,786.44 in restitution. Federal prosecutors described him as a central figure in a crew that targeted tractor-trailers across Philadelphia during a seven-month run in 2023.
The stolen crab legs were just one part of an operation that treated parked trailers like warehouses waiting to be emptied. Prosecutors said Palmer and his co-conspirators struck when trucks were unattended overnight or while their drivers were sleeping.
Using bolt cutters and other tools, the crew broke into trailers, removed their cargo, and offered the stolen merchandise to local buyers.
By the time the scheme unraveled, more than 10 victims had lost goods valued at over $1.5 million.
The theft that drew the most attention came on April 13, 2023, when Palmer and others broke into a trailer carrying approximately $750,000 in dimes from the U.S. Mint.
Surveillance footage captured six hooded men cutting into the truck and loading bags of coins into a waiting vehicle. They escaped with roughly $230,000—about 2.3 million dimes—leaving loose coins scattered across a Walmart parking lot in Northeast Philadelphia.
The audacious job was quickly dubbed the city’s “coin caper.”
But the crew’s crimes were not limited to high-value seafood, electronics, and millions of loose coins. Twelve days before the dime theft, Palmer participated in the robbery of a tractor-trailer carrying commercial refrigerators.
During that April 1 robbery, prosecutors said Palmer and the other participants attacked and injured the driver. Palmer ultimately pleaded guilty to conspiracy, Hobbs Act robbery, possession of property stolen from an interstate shipment, theft and possession of government money, and five counts of theft from interstate shipments.
Palmer’s sentencing also revived discussion of his former relationship with Meek Mill. The two knew each other growing up in Philadelphia and were once connected through the city’s rap and street circles. However, Meek cut ties with Palmer around 2016, and the two have been estranged for over a decade.
Palmer was also charged in a superseding indictment in December 2024 and pleaded guilty in March 2026.
