Washington: A 32-year old Pakistani national has been sentenced for 21 months in the US for defrauding American courier company FedEx by opening various shipping accounts causing losses of nearly USD 300,000 to the enterprise.
Babar Butt, who resided in multiple locations in Texas had pleaded guilty to the fraud. According to federal prosecutors Butt operated an electronics export business, routinely shipping items to Dubai, UAE.
In his order, US District Judge Keith P Ellison, asked Butt to pay USD 287,679 in restitution to FedEx. In handing down the sentence, Judge Ellison found that
Butt was in the business of fencing stolen property and noted that Butt's conduct was deplorable.
Not a US citizen, Butt is expected to face deportation proceedings following his release from prison, said the Department of Justice. As per court documents, beginning February 2015, Butt devised a scheme whereby he defrauded FedEx by opening various shipping accounts.
He would ship one or more packages of cell phones and electronics to Dubai and elsewhere until the charges were declined and he could no longer ship on that account.
He would then open new accounts to continue his scheme and would again not pay his shipping invoices, causing significant losses to FedEx, federal prosecutors alleged.
