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Post Office Scheme Lands Man 8 Years Behind Bars
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Charlotte man has been sentenced to 105 months in prison for orchestrating a massive post office scheme that netted the conspiracy over $650,000 in postage stamps and other merchandise.
Jimmie Lee Williams, 48, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney in connection with a fraudulent check scheme that spanned several years. According to court records, Williams used a network of 16 accomplices to defraud U.S. Post Offices and other businesses in North and South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.
Williams and his accomplices used counterfeit or fraudulent checks and identification to purchase postage stamps, gift cards, and other merchandise with a total face value of more than $650,000. The scheme involved Williams using counterfeit checks and checks drawn on his own closed accounts and the bank accounts of accomplices he met in prison and through youth football leagues in the Concord, North Carolina area.
Williams’ accomplices would give the stamps they obtained to him, who then sold them to an Internet company in California as well as a North Carolina pawn shop, typically for 50-70% of the face value. Williams recruited his accomplices from prison and wrote instructions on how to commit the charged postal fraud while serving a prison sentence for violating conditions of his supervised release from a previous federal conviction.
Williams pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy and one count of money laundering. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Williams was also ordered to serve two years under court supervision following the prison term and to pay $646,993.61 to the United States Postal Service as restitution.
U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Postal Inspection Service Inspector Thomas L. Noyes, FBI Special Agent John A. Strong, and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Acting Director Janie Sutton joined forces to bring Williams to justice. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Savage prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the FBI, and the NC SBI.
Williams’ sentence serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of white-collar crime. His case highlights the importance of collaboration between law enforcement agencies in bringing complex cases to a close.
Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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