Suspect remanded in Rs35b US stamp fraud

Five-day NCCIA custody ordered in alleged US postage scam

RAWALPINDI:

A district court on Wednesday remanded Faheem Akram, the alleged mastermind of a Rs35 billion fraud involving the online sale of counterfeit US postage stamps, in five-day custody to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).

The suspect, identified as a 33-year-old resident of Khanewal, had been charged by a Florida jury with defrauding the United States Postal Service (USPS) of $126 million, the US Attorney's Office of the Southern District of Florida said on Sept 28.

The NCCIA produced the suspect before the court and sought his physical remand for investigating into the alleged scam.

According to the investigating officer, the suspect had been operating a website under the name "Labels Bank" since August 2023 and allegedly sold more than five million counterfeit US postage stamps.

The investigation officer further alleged that 16 bank accounts belonging to members of the suspect's family had been used to operate the fraud network. The court granted the NCCIA five days of physical remand to interrogate the suspect and investigate the alleged financial fraud.

According to the US Department of Justice, the website run by the Pakistani national was not authorised to sell USPS products and services.

The counterfeit labels allegedly allowed customers to ship packages at rates "far below legitimate USPS prices", it said, adding that it caused losses exceeding $126m to the postal service.

US prosecutors alleged that the website sold the labels for around $2 each, regardless of a package's weight, size or destination. A US court order authorised the seizure and shutdown of the website.

On Tuesday, NCCIA's Lahore Zone Additional Director Atif Ameer said eight special teams had been formed in Punjab, Islamabad and Sindh to trace the suspect and investigate the network.

He said 16 bank accounts had been used in the scam, including some allegedly operated by his close relatives.

US prosecutors alleged that he sold counterfeit US postage at a fixed rate regardless of a package's weight, size or destination.