Miami-Dade County Resident Charged with Mail and Wire Fraud Targeting the United States Postal Service

A Miami-Dade County resident was arrested on federal charges in connection with a $1.5 million mail and wire fraud scheme that targeted the United States Postal Service.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Christopher Cave, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG), Southern Area Field Office, and Antonio J. Gomez, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division made the announcement. 

Edwin Jim Garcia-Albarracin, 45, of Miami, Florida, was charged in a thirty-two count indictment, that was unsealed today, with ten counts of mail fraud, ten counts of wire fraud, and twelve counts of money laundering (Case No. 20-cr-20012-WILLIAMS). He is scheduled for a detention hearing on January 21, 2020.

According to the indictment, Garcia-Albarracin through his company, Rambos Market, sold a variety of products online and used the United States Postal Service to mail the purchased products to consumers throughout South Florida and the United States.   The indictment charges that from at least as early as July 2016 and continuing through November 2019, Garcia-Albarracin submitted false and fraudulent claims through the United States Postal Service Customer Inquiry and Claims Response System certifying that contents of certain packages that he had mailed were damaged, when in truth they were not. As a result of Garcia-Albarracin’s false and fraudulent claims, the United States Postal Service made payments to Garcia-Albarracin of over $1.5 million.

If convicted, Garcia-Albarracin faces a maximum statutory sentence of twenty years in prison for each mail fraud count; twenty years in prison for each wire fraud count; twenty years in prison for each money laundering count, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956; ten years in prison for each money laundering count, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section  1957; a fine of up to $250,000 for the mail and wire fraud counts; and a fine not more than $500,000 or not more than twice the value of the loss as to each money laundering count of conviction. 

An indictment is a charging instrument containing allegations.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of USPS OIG and USPIS in this matter.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Hernandez. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling the asset forfeiture aspects of the case.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.