A Los Angeles County woman was sentenced Thursday to two years and six months behind bars for using counterfeit postage to ship millions of parcels in a scheme prosecutors say caused the U.S. Postal Service to lose more than $150 million.
Lijuan “Angela” Chen, 53, of Walnut, pleaded guilty in April 2024 to federal counts of conspiracy and forging and counterfeiting postage stamps.
Along with the prison sentence, Chen was ordered to pay restitution of over $158 million. Pursuant to her plea agreement and a court order, Chen has forfeited her interest in 12 homes, four certificates of deposit and six insurance policies, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Chen provided shipping and postage services to businesses, including e-commerce vendors operating out of China, that sought discounted USPS rates for mailing their products within the United States.
“Multiple examinations conducted by USPS and USPIS staff have revealed that the vast majority of the postage used by Chen and her business to ship goods within the United States is counterfeit,” prosecutors wrote in papers filed in Los Angeles federal court.
Chen’s Industry-based business received parcels from the vendors and others, applied shipping labels showing postage purportedly paid, then arranged for the parcels to be transferred to USPS facilities to be shipped across the nation.
A USPS analyst estimates that between January 2020 and May 2023, Chen and her employees shipped over 9 million mail parcels containing counterfeit postage, resulting in estimated revenue losses to the USPS of over $150 million, the indictment says.
Chen’s shipping business was previously operated by her husband, who fled to China two days after being interviewed by postal inspectors in November 2019, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
She is getting a slap on the hand from the judge; go figure!
What is the name of her business?