LOS ANGELES, CA — A San Gabriel Valley woman was sentenced Thursday to 2 1/2 years in federal prison for using counterfeit postage to ship millions of parcels in a scheme that cost the U.S. Postal Service over $150 million in losses, prosecutors said.
Lijuan “Angela” Chen, 53, of Walnut, pleaded guilty in April 2024 to federal counts of conspiracy and forging and counterfeiting postage stamps.
Along with the prison sentence, Chen was ordered to pay more than $158 million in restitution. Under her plea agreement and a court order, Chen has forfeited her interest in 12 homes, four certificates of deposit and six insurance policies, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Chen and co-defendant Chuanhua “Hugh” Hu owned and operated a package shipping business in the City of Industry that provided shipping services for China-based logistics businesses, according to federal prosecutors.
From at least November 2019 to May 2023, prosecutors said, Chen and Hu used counterfeit postage to ship tens of millions of parcels through the mail. The counterfeit labels often included recycled “intelligent barcode data” from previously mailed packages, according to court documents.
Hu fled the United States for China in November 2019 after learning law enforcement was investigating the counterfeit postage operation, prosecutors said. After he left, Hu developed ways to create fraudulent postage and avoid detection, while Chen remained in the U.S. and managed warehouses used to send the packages, according to prosecutors.
Federal officials said Chen and Hu knowingly mailed or caused to be mailed more than 34 million parcels bearing counterfeit postage labels between January 2020 and May 2023.
Hu, who prosecutors said in 2024 was believed to be a fugitive in China, faces federal charges including conspiracy to defraud the U.S., passing and possessing counterfeit obligations of the U.S., and forging and counterfeiting postage stamps.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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