Syndicated Cocaine Dealer Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering
A Kirkville man has pleaded guilty to money laundering charges, admitting to using a mobile payment app to receive cash from customers buying cocaine.
Michael Pupello, 35, of Kirkville, New York, was charged with one count of engaging in illegal monetary transactions. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and at least 3 years of supervised release.
According to court documents, Pupello distributed cocaine to customers from 2017 through October 2019. He deposited the cash proceeds from the sale of cocaine into a personal checking account and a business checking account at JPMorgan Chase Bank.
Pupello also admitted to using CashApp, a mobile phone application, to receive payment from several of his cocaine customers. He further admitted to transferring the proceeds he received via CashApp to both of his accounts at JPMorgan Chase and withdrawing $14,000 of drug proceeds from his business checking account.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation; New York State Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force, the Madison/Oneida County Sheriff Drug Task Force, and the New York State Police.
Pupello is scheduled to be sentenced on July 12, 2023, before the Hon. David N. Hurd in Utica, N.Y. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamara Thomson is prosecuting the case.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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