Fake claims of lost packages using addresses off Zillow net NC woman $38,000, feds say
A woman in Raleigh is accused of defrauding the United States Postal Service out of more than $38,000 by filing fake insurance claims for nonexistent packages, according to federal prosecutors.
All it took was her sister’s name, a few Zillow addresses and stock photos of merchandise, investigators said.
Jasmine Shyann Frederick, 32, pleaded guilty to mail fraud in federal court, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina said Wednesday in a news release. Frederick faces up to 20 years in prison when she’s sentenced in June, according to the release.
A defense attorney representing Frederick did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
The alleged scheme lasted from December 2017 to July 2019, prosecutors said. During that time, Frederick is accused of filing hundreds of fake insurance claims for priority packages shipped through USPS.
The Postal Service insures priority packages for up to $50 or $100 in case anything gets lost, damaged or goes missing, prosecutors said in court filings. Customers can file a claim within 60 days of the mailing date as long as they provide proof of the cost or value associated with the package.
In order to submit claims, Frederick created accounts on the USPS website in her sister’s name as well as her own, according to court documents.
She then completed the claims with valid USPS tracking numbers she found online, addresses she gathered from Zillow and stock images of the items supposedly in the packages, prosecutors said.
USPS subsequently mailed checks to Frederick. During the course of the year-in-a-half-long scheme, prosecutors said she received $38,614 in claim checks.
Court documents show Frederick was charged by criminal information in February.
This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 5:37 PM with the headline "Fake claims of lost packages using addresses off Zillow net NC woman $38,000, feds say."
