Skip to content
Hugin
A small parcel wrapped in grey plastic sitting alone on a steel roller conveyor.

Hugin News

Prosecutors say LabelsBank.com sold more than 5.1 million counterfeit Postal Service shipping labels to over 5,200 users, typically at $2 each whatever the package's weight, size or destination, for more than $126 million in alleged losses; under Postal Service rules, a package found carrying counterfeit postage is treated as abandoned.

4 min read

Original editorial artwork generated for Hugin.

A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida has indicted Faheem Akram, 33, of Khanewal, Pakistan, on charges that he ran LabelsBank.com, a website that prosecutors say sold counterfeit U.S. postage at a fixed rate, typically $2 per label, regardless of a package's weight, size or destination. The Justice Department's September 28 release says over 5,200 individuals used the site to buy more than 5.1 million counterfeit shipping labels, causing more than $126 million in alleged losses to the Postal Service. By Hugin's arithmetic, that is roughly $25 of alleged loss per label. The site has been shut down and its domain seized. The charges are allegations, and the release does not say whether any buyer faces action; the Postal Inspection Service says buying or using counterfeit postage is illegal. For anyone who ships, the plainest risk is to the package: since May 7, 2023, Postal Service rules have treated mail found bearing counterfeit postage as abandoned, to be disposed of at the Postal Service's discretion. Under a temporary price change, genuine Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, Ground Advantage and Parcel Select prices rise 6.0 percent on average from October 4 until January 17, 2027.

uspscounterfeit-postageindictmentfraudsmall-businessshippingconsumer-protection
9source receipts7source hosts4 minread timelinkedprimary source

If you sell online and print your own shipping labels, a $2 label priced the same for any box going anywhere is a warning sign. Federal prosecutors say one website sold more than 5.1 million counterfeit ones.

On September 28 federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida announced the indictment of Faheem Akram, 33, of Khanewal, Pakistan. They say he ran LabelsBank.com, which sold counterfeit U.S. postage "at a fixed rate — typically $2 per label — regardless of a package's weight, size, or destination". The site was not an authorized Postal Service seller. The Postal Service got a court order; the site is shut down and its domain seized.

About $25 of alleged loss per $2 label

The release says over 5,200 individuals used the site to buy more than 5.1 million counterfeit labels, and puts the alleged losses to the Postal Service at more than $126 million. Its headline says over $100 million.

Divided out, that is roughly $25 of alleged loss for each label, against a typical price of $2, and about 1,000 labels per user on average: Hugin's arithmetic, on rounded figures. The release says only that the labels allegedly let customers ship "at rates far below legitimate USPS prices", costing the Postal Service "substantial lost revenue and shipping costs".

The charges

Akram 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. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison on the conspiracy and counterfeit-postage counts and 20 years on each wire-fraud count. An indictment is an accusation. He is presumed innocent.

What it means if you ship

The release does not say whether any buyer faces action. The Postal Inspection Service's guidance page says it is illegal to buy or use counterfeit postage, and that using counterfeit stamps "can result in action" by the Inspection Service. The plainest risk is to the package. The Postal Service's mailing manual, under a rule in force since May 7, 2023, says:

Items found in the mail bearing counterfeit postage will be considered abandoned and will be disposed of at the discretion of the Postal Service.

Adopting the rule in 2023, the Postal Service said it "is not required to prove that the mailer knew the postage was counterfeit", that it may not deliver such items even postage-due, and that it was not planning an administrative review process. For a small seller, that can mean an order that never arrives.

  • Buy from the source. The Postal Inspection Service says to "always purchase from USPS or an authorized retailer". Click-N-Ship, free with a USPS.com account, prints labels at what the Postal Service calls its lower commercial rates.
  • Distrust a price that ignores the package. The labels in this case allegedly sold at a fixed rate, typically $2, whatever the weight, size or destination. Genuine prices also move with the calendar: from October 4 until January 17, 2027, a temporary price change raises Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, Ground Advantage and Parcel Select prices by 6.0 percent on average.
  • Report a seller. The Postal Inspection Service's Counterfeit Postage Reporting System, open since September 26, 2025, takes reports of counterfeit labels and stamps.

What the record does not say

  • Whether any buyer knew the labels were fake.
  • What happened to the packages: how many were delivered, and how many stopped.
  • How the $126 million was calculated, or how much the site took in. The release names a prosecutor handling asset forfeiture but gives no amount.
  • The exact customer count. The Postal Inspection Service's own announcement says "more than 5,000 customers"; the Justice Department says over 5,200 individuals.
  • What the indictment says. CourtListener's docket index lists it as filed September 22, 2026, in case 26-cr-60249. Hugin could not obtain it.
  • Whether Akram is in custody or has entered a plea.

Source links