ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani man has been charged in the United States with running an online scheme that allegedly sold more than 5.1 million counterfeit postage labels and caused over $126 million in losses to the US Postal Service, the Justice Department said this week.

A federal grand jury in Florida indicted Faheem Akram, 33, of Khanewal in Pakistan’s Punjab province, accusing him of operating LabelsBank.com, an unauthorized website that allegedly sold counterfeit US postage labels typically for a flat $2 each, regardless of a package’s weight, size or destination.

“The alleged scheme was simple but massive: sell counterfeit postage online at fixed, cut-rate prices, as little as $2 per label, regardless of a package’s weight, size, or destination, enabling customers to avoid legitimate Postal Service charges,” US Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said in a statement.

“The indictment alleges more than 5.1 million counterfeit labels and more than $126 million in losses.”

Prosecutors said more than 5,200 people used the website to buy the counterfeit shipping labels, allowing packages to be sent at rates far below legitimate US Postal Service prices.

The Postal Service obtained a court order authorizing the seizure and shutdown of LabelsBank.com in connection with the indictment, according to the Justice Department.

“Through the work of the US Postal Inspection Service and our prosecutors, the website has been shut down, the domain seized, and federal charges brought against its alleged operator, a Pakistani national,” Quiñones said.

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 could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison on the conspiracy and counterfeit postage counts and up to 20 years on each wire fraud count.

The Justice Department statement did not say whether Akram was in US custody or whether he had entered a plea.

“Our reach goes beyond our borders,” said Bladismir Rojo, inspector in charge of the US Postal Inspection Service’s Miami Division.

“Transnational criminal organizations defrauding the Postal Service and targeting US consumers by pushing phony postage, will be found and brought to justice.”

The US Postal Inspection Service’s Miami Division is investigating the case, while federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting it.

The Justice Department said the indictment contained allegations and Akram was presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.