Pakistani authorities arrest man accused in $126m US postage fraud

Faheem Akram has been charged with several offences including conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Police officers escort detained suspect Faheem Akram, accused of running an online counterfeit postage operation that US prosecutors say caused more than $126m in losses to the US Postal Service [K M Chaudary/AP]

Pakistani authorities have arrested a man accused of masterminding an online counterfeit operation that United States prosecutors say resulted in more than $125m of losses to the US Postal Service.

Faheem Akram, 33, was arrested on Tuesday after an expansive search operation and raids across Pakistan, a senior official at the Pakistani National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency told reporters.

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Akram was indicted last month by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida, and is accused of operating a fraudulent website where he sold more than 5.1 million counterfeit stamps in the US.

The stamps, which cost about $2 each, allowed customers to ship their packages at a lower price than official postal rates, causing significant losses to the Postal Service, according to the US Attorney’s office.

The estimate of more than $124m however, represents the losses to the Postal Service and not the proceeds from the website, officials said.

Pakistani investigators discovered that Akram has been operating the website since August 2023 and used 16 bank accounts, including his own and several family members’, for the operation.

Akram has been charged with several offences, including conspiracy to defraud the US and the making and selling of fake postage stamps, as well as four counts of wire fraud, according to the US Postal Service.

He could face 20 years in prison on each count of wire fraud, as well as five years in prison for conspiracy.

Akram is currently in custody in Pakistan, but it is unclear whether he will face trial in the country or be extradited to the US.

法希姆·阿克拉姆被指控犯有多项罪行，其中包括串谋诈骗美国。

警方押送被拘留的嫌疑人法希姆·阿克拉姆，他被控经营网上伪造邮票业务，美国检察官称该业务给美国邮政服务造成了超过 1.26 亿美元的损失。[KM Chaudary/AP]

巴基斯坦当局逮捕了一名男子，该男子被指控策划了一起网络假冒商品活动。美国检察官称，该活动给美国邮政服务造成了超过 1.25 亿美元的损失。

巴基斯坦国家网络犯罪调查局一名高级官员告诉记者，33岁的法希姆·阿克拉姆于周二在巴基斯坦各地展开大规模搜查和突袭行动后被捕。

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阿克拉姆上个月被佛罗里达州南区联邦大陪审团起诉，他被指控运营一个欺诈网站，在美国出售了超过 510 万枚假邮票。

据美国检察官办公室称，这些邮票每张售价约 2 美元，允许顾客以低于官方邮资的价格寄送包裹，给邮政服务造成了重大损失。

官员们表示，超过 1.24 亿美元的估计金额代表的是邮政服务的损失，而不是该网站的收益。

巴基斯坦调查人员发现，阿克拉姆自 2023 年 8 月以来一直在运营该网站，并使用了 16 个银行账户进行运营，其中包括他自己的账户和几个家庭成员的账户。

据美国邮政局称，阿克拉姆被控犯有多项罪行，包括串谋诈骗美国、制造和销售假邮票，以及四项电汇欺诈罪。

他每项电信诈骗罪名最高可判处 20 年监禁，共谋罪最高可判处 5 年监禁。

阿克拉姆目前被关押在巴基斯坦，但尚不清楚他是否会在该国接受审判，还是会被引渡到美国。