Pakistani man indicted over alleged $126 million USPS fraud scheme

A federal grand jury in Florida has indicted a Pakistani national accused of running an online operation that allegedly caused more than $126 million in losses to the United States Postal Service (USPS) through the sale of counterfeit postage labels.

MIAMI: A federal grand jury in Florida has indicted a Pakistani national accused of running an online operation that allegedly caused more than $126 million in losses to the United States Postal Service (USPS) through the sale of counterfeit postage labels.

According to the US Department of Justice 33-year-old Faheem Akram of Khanewal Pakistan allegedly operated a website called LabelsBank.com. Prosecutors say the platform was not authorized to provide USPS products or services but offered shipping labels at unusually low prices.

Investigators allege that the website generally charged customers about $2 per label regardless of a parcel’s weight, size or destination. Such labels allegedly enabled buyers to send packages at prices far below the legitimate rates charged by the postal service.

Authorities said more than 5,200 customers used the website to obtain over 5.1 million counterfeit shipping labels. Prosecutors estimate that the operation resulted in losses exceeding $126 million for USPS through lost postage revenue and shipping costs.

The website has since been seized and shut down under a court order obtained by US authorities. The investigation was conducted by the Miami Division of the US Postal Inspection Service.

Akram faces 10 federal charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States and produce or sell counterfeit postage five counts involving counterfeit postage labels and four wire-fraud counts. If convicted he could face significant prison sentences under federal law.

The case is being prosecuted in the Southern District of Florida. US authorities have emphasized that the charges contained in the indictment are allegations and that Akram is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

The investigation highlights the financial impact of counterfeit postage schemes particularly those using online platforms to distribute unauthorized shipping labels to large numbers of customers.