MIAMI — Akram operated LabelsBank.com, a website not authorized to sell U.S. Postal Service products or services. More than 5,200 individuals used LabelsBank.com to purchase more than 5.1 million counterfeit shipping labels. The site allegedly sold counterfeit U.S. postage labels at a fixed rate, typically $2 per label, regardless of package weight, size, or destination.

Akram is charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to make and sell counterfeit postage stamps. He faces five counts of making and selling counterfeit postage stamp labels and four counts of wire fraud. If convicted, Akram faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy and counterfeit postage counts. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each wire fraud count.

Akram is a national of Pakistan residing in Khanewal. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason A. Reding Quiñones said the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and prosecutors shut down the website, seized the domain, and brought federal charges against its alleged operator. The U.S. Postal Service obtained a court order authorizing the seizure and shutdown of LabelsBank.com.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service Miami Division is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jon Juenger and Jacqueline DerOvanesian are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture for the case. Akram has no prior criminal record in the United States, according to court documents and law enforcement records.

Bladismir Rojo, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Miami Division, said transnational criminal organizations defrauding the Postal Service and targeting U.S. consumers by pushing phony postage will be found and brought to justice.

Why It Matters

The U.S. Postal Service’s mandate includes ensuring the integrity of its postage system, as outlined in 39 U.S.C. § 401, which authorizes the service to prevent the use of counterfeit postage and protect its revenue streams.

The Office of Inspector General reported that between March 2020 and March 2025, the Postal Inspection Service identified $57 million in losses related to counterfeit postage but recovered only $572,250, or about 1% of the total losses. In 2022, the U.S. Postal Service transferred responsibility for detecting counterfeit postage from the Postal Inspection Service to the Chief Information Security Office due to increasing fraud trends. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service Miami Division has a history of collaborating with the Department of Justice to prosecute individuals involved in large-scale counterfeit postage schemes.

Timeline

A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment charging Faheem Akram with operating an unauthorized website that allegedly sold more than 5 million counterfeit U.S. postage labels. Also on that date, Akram was charged with five counts of making and selling counterfeit postage stamp labels.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason A. Reding Quiñones stated that the indictment alleges more than 5.1 million counterfeit labels and more than $126 million in losses. He described the alleged scheme as simple but massive, noting it enabled customers to avoid legitimate Postal Service charges by selling counterfeit postage online at fixed, cut-rate prices. Quiñones added that through the work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and prosecutors, the website was shut down, the domain seized, and federal charges brought against its alleged operator. Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Miami Division Bladismir Rojo said that their reach goes beyond borders and that transnational criminal organizations defrauding the Postal Service will be found and brought to justice.

How Sources Differ

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason A. Reding Quiñones stated the alleged scheme was simple but massive, involving sales at fixed, cut-rate prices regardless of package details to avoid legitimate charges. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service Miami Division has previously shut down multiple websites selling counterfeit postage labels.

Quiñones described the scheme as enabling customers to avoid legitimate Postal Service charges through fixed-price counterfeit labels. The U.S. Postal Service lost revenue due to counterfeit postage labels, according to the Office of Inspector General.

Quiñones focused on the mechanism of the fraud.

Quiñones detailed the pricing structure of the counterfeit labels.

Quiñones described the operational simplicity of the scheme. The Office of Inspector General stated that between March 2020 and March 2025, the Postal Inspection Service identified $57 million in losses from counterfeit postage but recovered only $572,250, or about 1% of the losses.