Pakistani authorities arrested Faheem Akram, 33, on Tuesday, accusing him of running an online counterfeit postage operation out of South Florida. U.S. prosecutors say the scheme caused more than $126 million in losses to the U.S. Postal Service. Pakistan’s National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency announced the arrest after a search of several weeks that included raids in different parts of the country.
Akram, of Khanewal in eastern Punjab province, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida, according to a Sept. 28 statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors allege he operated LabelsBank.com, an unauthorized website based in Broward County. The site sold more than 5.1 million counterfeit postage labels to more than 5,200 customers, typically for $2 each regardless of a package’s weight, size or destination.
The labels let customers ship packages at rates far below legitimate postal prices. The $126 million figure reflects alleged losses to the Postal Service, not the website’s revenue. Court documents also describe a fraudulent postage wire communication sent to a person in Fort Pierce.
Agency official Atif Ameer said investigators found that Akram ran the site from August 2023 through September 2026. He said the operation used 16 bank accounts, including accounts held by Akram’s brother, wife, sister and aunt.
It is unclear whether Akram will be extradited to the United States or tried in Pakistan.
