Pakistani resident of Houston heads to prison for defrauding FedEx

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A 32-year-old Pakistani national living in the greater Houston area has been ordered to federal prison following his convictions on six counts of mail fraud. After serving his sentence, Babar Butt is expected to face deportation proceedings.

Butt, who lived in multiple locations in Houston and Spring in Texas, and operated an electronics export business, routinely shipped items to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

On July 18, U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison, who accepted Butt’s guilty plea, handed the businessman a 21-month sentence. Butt was further ordered to pay $287,679 in restitution to FedEx.

In handing down the sentence, Judge Ellison found that Butt was in the business of fencing stolen property and noted that Butt’s conduct was deplorable.

Beginning in February 2015, Butt engaged in a scheme to defraud FedEx by opening various shipping accounts. He would ship one or more packages of cell phones and electronics to Dubai and elsewhere until the charges were declined and he could no longer ship on that account. He would then open new accounts to continue his scheme and would again not pay his shipping invoices.

Butt will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas.