Pakistani man arrested over alleged $126m US postage fraud
Pakistan's cybercrime agency has arrested Faheem Akram, who is accused of running a counterfeit postage operation that caused $126 million (£94m) in losses to the US Postal Service, according to the BBC.
Counterfeit postage means fake stamps or shipping labels, the kind people buy to pay for posting parcels and letters. US prosecutors say Akram sold fake stamps through a fraudulent website since 2023. The website was LabelsBank.com, which the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida says Akram ran. He is 33 and from Khanewal, Pakistan. Authorities have since shut the site down.
According to the US Attorney's Office, the labels were sold at a fixed price, usually $2 each, regardless of a package's weight, size or destination. More than 5,200 people bought more than 5.1 million of them.
A federal grand jury in Florida has indicted Akram. A grand jury is a panel of citizens that decides whether there is enough evidence to bring formal charges. He faces one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to make and sell counterfeit postage stamps, five counts of making and selling counterfeit postage stamp labels, and four counts of wire fraud, which covers fraud carried out through electronic communications. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison on the conspiracy and counterfeit postage counts, and up to 20 years on each wire fraud count.
The US Postal Inspection Service, the Postal Service's law enforcement arm, has offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to Akram's arrest. The charges against him are allegations.
