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Liberty Reserve Tech Chief Pleads Guilty to Laundering Billions
The former tech chief of Liberty Reserve, a digital currency service that allegedly laundered billions in suspected crime proceeds, pleaded guilty to operating an illegal money transmitting business.
Maxim Chukharev, 28, of San José, Costa Rica, pleaded guilty to conspiring to operate an illegal unlicensed money transmitting business in the Southern District of New York. Sentencing is scheduled for January 30, 2015.
According to allegations, Liberty Reserve was created in 2006 to help users conduct illegal transactions anonymously and launder the proceeds of their crimes. The company emerged as a major money transfer agent used by cybercriminals worldwide to distribute, store and launder the proceeds of their illegal activity.
Before being shut down by the government in May 2013, Liberty Reserve had over 1 million users worldwide, including over 200,000 users in the United States, who conducted approximately 55 million transactions through its system, totaling more than $6 billion in funds. The funds encompassed suspected proceeds of credit card fraud, identity theft, investment fraud, computer hacking, child pornography, narcotics trafficking and other crimes.
Chukharev was an associate of Liberty Reserve founder Arthur Budovsky and served as the company’s information technology manager in Costa Rica. He was responsible for maintaining Liberty Reserve’s technological infrastructure alongside co-defendant Mark Marmilev, formerly Liberty Reserve’s chief technology officer.
Three co-defendants – Marmilev, Vladimir Kats and Azzeddine el Amine – previously pleaded guilty and await sentencing. The charges contained in the indictment remain pending and are merely accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case is being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from several international law enforcement agencies. The case is being prosecuted jointly by the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Complex Frauds Unit and Asset Forfeiture Unit in the Southern District of New York.
RELATED: Liberty Reserve Tech Chief Pleads Guilty in Massive Money Laundering Scheme
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Cybercrime|Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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