Washington, D.C. resident Raekwon Malik Harrod, age 25, has been sentenced for his role in a scheme that defrauded corporations of more than $900,000, by illegally utilizing UPS accounts to generate and sell shipping labels. Harrod’s plea of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, which he entered on January 5, led to a sentence of six months and one day in prison and a subsequent home detention of twelve months, as announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves along with FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott. Additionally, Harrod must pay back a hefty $920,000 in restitution and will be under supervised release for three years following his incarceration.
Details from the plea agreement reveal Harrod's collaboration with individuals in Maryland and California. Carl Granada Wilson, Jr., provided the illicit access to a company's UPS account, which was then used by Harrod and a co-conspirator from Maryland to create and sell thousands of shipping labels online. Their activities swindled the victimized company out of significant sums, with losses exceeding $900,000. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the scheme initially focused on mailing shoes sold by the conspirators, reducing their shipping costs to nothing, before they expanded their fraud to a wider online customer base.
The plot unraveled when Harrod and his accomplice lost access to the first UPS account and disclosed their illicit side business to Wilson, leading to a demand for a $120,000 cut under the pretense of compensating the original source of the UPS account information. However, Wilson intended to pocket the entire sum. Consequently, Harrod and his partner withdrew and physically transported $120,000 to Wilson in Los Angeles, unaware of his deceptive intentions.
Despite the initial fallout, the fraudulent operations resumed when Wilson secured the account details of another company. With this access, Harrod and the Maryland conspirator jumped back into the criminal enterprise of selling shipping labels. Wilson's complicity in this phase of the scheme was direct and explicit. He has since pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and is awaiting sentencing set for October 31, 2024, as reported by the U.S. Department of Justice.
This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kondi Kleinman with help of Sonalika Chaturvedi, a paralegal specialist. The investigation also saw contributions from former paralegal specialist Michon Tart and former Financial Analyst Bryan Snitselaar.
