NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that JIMMIE JAMES (“JAMES”), age 33, a resident of Houston, was sentenced on May 25, 2022 for conspiracy to commit mail fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. The Honorable Ivan Lemelle sentenced JAMES to thirty (30) months in prison, three (3) years of supervised release, a $100 mandatory special assessment fee, and payment of $178,409.00 in restitution.
According to court documents, JAMES conspired with TYREE JOHNSON (“JOHNSON”), an employee with United Parcel Service (UPS), to steal shipments of Apple iPhones from the UPS Customer Service Center where JOHNSON worked. JOHNSON would over-label boxes of iPhones destined for AT&T Mobility stores with a shipping label provided to him by JAMES. These shipping labels would cause the boxes of iPhones to be redirected to JAMES’s home or an unidentified co-conspirator living in Chalmette. As a reward for over-labeling the packages, JAMES paid JOHNSON at least $3,500 through the Zelle payment application.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Spiro G. Latsis is in charge of the prosecution.