CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A federal grand jury returned a criminal indictment this week, charging Matias Alexander Vinces Aguayo, 24, formerly of Gastonia, N.C., with conspiring with others to launder over $380,000 in illegal proceeds from a wire fraud scheme, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, joins U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to allegations in the indictment, during the scheme, Aguayo owned and operated Keys ‘N Go, a North Carolina company located in Gastonia, which maintained online payment processing accounts with Stripe and Square.
In addition, the indictment further alleges that Aguayo owned and controlled personal and business bank accounts with a financial institution, including in the name of Keys ‘N Go, and a cryptocurrency exchange account at Binance.US.
According to allegations in the indictment, Aguayo’s co-conspirators used fraudulently obtained personally identifying information (PII) to open bank accounts online in order to receive promotional money and other fraudulently obtained funds, which was then deposited into the bank accounts.
A co-conspirator of Aguayo then allegedly sent the bank account information to Aguayo, who used it to withdraw the money from the accounts via the Keys ‘N Go accounts at Stripe and Square.
In total, Aguayo allegedly transferred at least $240,000 to cryptocurrency addresses and via wire transfers. Aguayo earned compensation for his role in the scheme, including keeping a percentage of the money initially deposited into the accounts he controlled.
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Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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