Defendant Ordered to Pay $365,827.00 in Restitution to U.S. Postal Service
ALBUQUERQUE - James H. Clark, Jr., 62, of Las Cruces, N.M., was sentenced late yesterday afternoon in Las Cruces federal court for possession with intent to use forged and counterfeited postage meter stamps. Clark was sentenced to five years of probation and was ordered to pay $365,827.00 in restitution to the U.S. Postal Service.
Clark, the owner and operator of a business selling books through internet websites, was indicted on Feb. 19, 2014, and charged with possession with intent to use forged and counterfeited postage meter stamps. He pled guilty to the indictment on April 10, 2014.
In entering his guilty plea, Clark admitted that on Oct. 19, 2010, he knowingly possessed 1,527 forged and counterfeited postage meter stamps that he created by copying original postage meter stamps that he purchased from stamps.com. Clark also admitted that he intended to use the forged and counterfeited stamps to mail packages through the U.S. Postal Service. He acknowledged that the total face value of the forged and counterfeited stamps was $9,142.98. In his plea agreement, Clark acknowledged that the U.S. Postal Service sustained $365,827.00 in losses as a result of his criminal activities, and agreed to pay restitution in that amount.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
