Dozens Sentenced in Atlanta-Based Money Laundering, Fraud Scheme
More than three dozen people were sentenced for their role in a large-scale fraud and money laundering scheme run out of Atlanta.
Prosecutors say the defendants stole more than $30 million from victims across the United States and abroad, including individuals, corporations, and financial institutions.
“These fraud scams, although not violent, are not victimless and can be devastating to businesses and individuals who fall prey to them,” said Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta Keri Fairly.
The defendants used a myriad of schemes including business email compromise schemes (where criminals send email messages that appear to come from a known source), romance fraud schemes, retirement account scams, and other frauds, to swipe the money. They were charged across several related cases. Sentences ranged from three years of probation to more than eight years in prison.
“The Department of Justice has tirelessly worked for more than four years to obtain justice for dozens of victims impacted by this brazen criminal organization,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan of the Northern District of Georgia. “The defendants’ sentences should serve as a stark warning to others that fraud and money laundering crimes are top priorities for this office and our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners.”
Among the scams was a retirement scam, where the scammers took money from individuals’ retirement accounts and deposited the funds into personal and business bank accounts created to further the conspiracy.
“The greed of the conspirators caused workers and prospective retirees to lose significant portions of their hard-earned retirement funds. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration to protect the integrity of employee benefit plans,” said Mathew Broadhurst, Special Agent-in-Charge, Southeast Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
Most of the defendants live in the Atlanta area. However, two are from Texas, one is from Missouri, one is from Colorado, and one is from Nigeria. One of the defendants is deceased.
The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program—the keystone drug, money laundering, and transnational organized crime enforcement program of the Department of Justice.
Agencies taking part included the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, U.S. Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with support from the Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), and other federal, state, and local partners.