Atlanta, GA – Malachi Mullings, 31, a Sandy Springs resident, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for laundering more than $4.5 million derived from romance fraud scams and business email compromise schemes.
A U.S. District Judge Michael L. Brown handed down the sentence, which will be followed by three years of supervised release. Mullings was also ordered to pay restitution to victims.
Mullings had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and seven counts of various money laundering offenses on January 17, 2023.
“Motivated by greed, Mullings and his co-conspirators brazenly stole millions of dollars from companies and elderly victims located throughout the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “This case demonstrates our office’s commitment to collaborate closely with our law enforcement partners to bring to justice those who perpetrate these frauds.”
“Malachi Mullings used various schemes to fraudulently obtain money to feed his greed, and in some cases took advantage of the elderly to do it,” said Demetrius Hardeman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation special agents are skilled financial investigators who can unravel complex financial transactions and money laundering schemes criminals use to hide their ill-gotten money.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: From at least 2019 through July 2021, Mullings opened 20 bank accounts in the name of a sham company, The Mullings Group LLC. Mullings used those accounts to launder millions of dollars of fraud proceeds generated by business email compromise (BEC) schemes targeting, among others, a health care benefit program and private companies, and romance fraud scams targeting numerous individual victims, several of whom were elderly.
In one instance, Mullings laundered $310,000 that was fraudulently diverted from a state Medicaid program and had been intended as reimbursement for a hospital. In another instance, Mullings obtained $260,000 from a romance scam perpetrated on an elderly victim, which Mullings used to purchase a Ferrari.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is part of the Department of Justice Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force. The Strike Force focuses on investigating and prosecuting defendants associated with foreign-based fraud schemes that disproportionately affect American seniors.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly K. Connors prosecuted the case, with Trial Attorneys Gary Winters and Chris Wenger of the National Rapid Response Strike Force of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
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Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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