PHILADELPHIA, PA — Zumar and Abdush Dubose of Atlantic City, New Jersey and Boynton Beach, Florida respectively, were sentenced this week by United States District Judge Wendy Beetlestone for contriving a fraud scheme against the United States Postal Service, UPS and Citizens Bank. The sentencing comes after allegations of mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering conspired against U.S. Postal Service and UPS.
Zumar Dubose was sentenced to 125 months imprisonment on March 15, 2024, in addition to five years of supervised release, and restitution of $281,223. The previous day, his brother Abdush Dubose received 57 months imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and similar restitution. Their co-defendant and brother, Kariem Dubose of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, had been sentenced on February 15, 2024, to 24 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and restitution of $47,813.09.
The brothers’ scheme, which spanned approximately 1.5 years starting from October 2018, involved contriving over 1,200 fraudulent insured-parcel claims with the United States Postal Service and UPS, whereby almost $300,000 was gained undeservedly. The parcels included worthless items such as sand, cardboard, and cheap plastic headphones, which were then falsely claimed to contain valuable items such as brand name headphones, designer sunglasses and clothing, and other electronic items, supposedly lost or damaged in transit.
The brothers allegedly exploited numerous emails, addresses, postboxes, bank accounts, fake individual names, and fictitious corporations, including “Urmajesty Banktruckfit Solutions,” “Miworld Three Incorporated,” and “4 Entertainment Corporation,” created in the State of New Jersey, and “Seeds of Beauty Incorporated,” incorporated in the State of Florida, to implement their scheme.
When the U.S. Postal Service, UPS and Citizens Bank began to refuse their claims or place holds on their accounts, the brothers continued their scheme undeterred. They pursued recoveries from the U.S. Postal Service and UPS using false names, and even filed lawsuits against UPS and Citizens Bank using fabricated identities, in an attempt to access the proceeds of their fraud.
The case was led by United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero who stated, “The Dubose brothers made their fraud a family affair, taking advantage of the U.S. Postal Service and UPS policies designed for customers with legitimate losses.” The U.S. Attorney’s office vows to shut down fraudulent schemes and hold the wrongdoers accountable.
Christopher Nielsen, the Inspector in Charge of the Philadelphia Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, praised the United States Attorney’s Office for the conviction and sentencing of the Dubose brothers and reiterated the office’s commitment to identifying and preventing such fraudulent schemes.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General and the United States Postal Inspection Service, while UPS and Citizens Bank provided crucial cooperation in the investigation. The relentless pursuit of justice by the Assistant United States Attorneys Louis D. Lappen and J. Jeanette Kang was instrumental in the conviction and sentencing of the Dubose brothers.
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