Two Southern California brothers were sentenced to prison for defrauding the U.S. Postal Service out of millions of dollars.
Anwer Fareed Alam, 36, and Yousofzay Fahim Alam, 34, both from Riverside County, carried out the yearslong scheme through an insurance fraud operation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
From October 2016 to May 2019, the brothers purchased Priority Mail packages and postages that included $100 in insurance for lost or damaged parcel contents.
Anwer wrapped either empty packages or packages that contained items of little to no value before mailing them to fake recipients at fake addresses, prosecutors said.
Anwer’s brother, Yousofzay, then submitted fraudulent insurance claims on USPS’ website claiming their packages were damaged or lost. Court documents stated he lied and said the packages contained expensive or valuable items.
To bolster their claims, fake invoices and photographs of items that were not actually inside the packages were also sent to USPS.