Washington, Sep 28 (IANS) A Pakistani national has been charged in a US federal court with running a website that allegedly sold more than 5.1 million counterfeit postage labels, causing losses of more than $126 million to the US Postal Service.
A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida indicted Faheem Akram, 33, of Khanewal, Pakistan, over the operation of LabelsBank.com. Prosecutors allege that the site sold counterfeit labels for a fixed price, typically $2 each, regardless of a parcel’s weight, size or destination.
The website was not authorised to sell Postal Service products or services, according to the court records cited by prosecutors. Its customers allegedly used the labels to send parcels for far less than the legitimate postage price.
More than 5,200 people bought over 5.1 million labels through the site, the investigation found. Prosecutors said the resulting lost revenue and shipping costs to the Postal Service exceeded $126 million. The figures are allegations in the case and have not been established at trial.
“The alleged scheme was simple but massive: sell counterfeit postage online at fixed, cut-rate prices, as little as $2 per label, regardless of a package’s weight, size, or destination, enabling customers to avoid legitimate Postal Service charges,” said US Attorney Jason A. Reding Quinones for the Southern District of Florida.
“The indictment alleges more than 5.1 million counterfeit labels and more than $126 million in losses. Through the work of the US Postal Inspection Service and our prosecutors, the website has been shut down, the domain seized, and federal charges brought against its alleged operator, a Pakistani national,” he said.
The Postal Service obtained a court order authorising the seizure and shutdown of LabelsBank.com in conjunction with the indictment. The release did not say where Akram was when the indictment was returned or whether he had appeared before a US court.
Akram faces one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to make and sell counterfeit postage stamps. He is also charged with five counts of making and selling counterfeit postage stamp labels and four counts of wire fraud.
If convicted, he faces a maximum of five years in prison on the conspiracy and counterfeit postage counts and 20 years on each wire fraud count.
“Our reach goes beyond our borders,” said Bladismir Rojo, inspector in charge of the US Postal Inspection Service’s Miami Division, which is investigating the case. He said the agency would pursue those accused of using counterfeit postage to defraud the Postal Service.
–IANS
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