Pakistani national indicted in $126m US postage fraud

A Pakistani national has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Florida over allegations that he operated an online scheme selling counterfeit US postage labels, allegedly causing more than $126 million in losses to the United States Postal Service (USPS).

According to the US Department of Justice, 33-year-old Faheem Akram, from Khanewal district in Punjab, allegedly ran LabelsBank.com, a website that sold counterfeit USPS shipping labels at significantly reduced fixed prices.

Investigators allege that the website sold more than 5.1 million fake postage labels to over 5,200 customers. The labels were reportedly offered for around $2 each, regardless of a package’s weight, size or destination.

US authorities said the website was not authorised to provide USPS products or services. The allegedly fraudulent labels allowed customers to ship packages at prices substantially below legitimate postal rates, resulting in lost revenue and additional costs for the postal service.

The website has been shut down and its domain seized following a court order obtained by USPS, the Justice Department said.

Akram faces one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and produce and distribute counterfeit postage, five counts related to counterfeit postage labels and four counts of wire fraud.

If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison for each conspiracy and counterfeit postage charge, while each wire fraud count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.