Raleigh Woman Pleads Guilty to Filing False Priority Mail Insurance Claims

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Raleigh woman pleaded guilty today to Mail Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341.

According to court documents, Jasmine Shyann Frederick, 32, of Raleigh, admitted to carrying out a scheme to profit from the filing of false Priority Mail insurance claims. 

The Criminal Information, to which the defendant pled guilty, states that the United States Postal Service (USPS) insures Priority Mail packages up to $100.  To qualify for payment, the addressee or sender must send proof of the cost or value of the lost or damaged item, either online or by mail.  Applicants for insurance payments must certify the truthfulness of their submissions.

The Criminal Information further alleges that between December of 2017, and continuing to July of 2019, the defendant submitted and caused to be submitted hundreds of false insurance claims for Priority Mail packages shipped by the USPS.  Using USPS.com accounts in her name, and that of her sister, the defendant uploaded stock pictures of allegedly lost or damaged merchandise.  The defendant also supplied Priority Mail tracking numbers acquired online.

The Criminal Information further alleges that the USPS mailed numerous insurance claim checks to the defendant’s home in Raleigh.  The defendant deposited these checks into her bank accounts or cashed them through her sister’s accounts.  In total, the defendant negotiated and caused to be negotiated $38,614.74 in claim checks she received through the scheme.

Frederick pleaded guilty to Mail Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341, and faces a up to 20 years in prison when sentenced in June of 2021.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after United States Magistrate Judge Robert T. Numbers II accepted the plea.  The United States Postal Inspection Service is investigating the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney William M. Gilmore is prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-cr-00080-D-1.