Moises Amezcua-Cardenas, Money Laundering, Wisconsin 2022

MADISON, WIS. – A brazen money laundering scheme that swindled businesses out of approximately $300,000 has resulted in another conviction, this time for Moises Amezcua-Cardenas, 21, of Schofield, Wisconsin.

In a shocking display of deceit, individuals used false pretenses to convince employees of businesses to collect and deliver cash-on-hand to supposed legitimate money couriers. However, these individuals were, in fact, part of a larger scheme to funnel money back to perpetrators in Mexico.

Moises Amezcua-Cardenas was one of those individuals who picked up money from employee victims under the guise of being a legitimate money courier. He also conducted wire transactions to redirect the fraud proceeds back to his accomplices in Mexico.

According to court documents, Amezcua-Cardenas and his co-defendant, Mario Amezcua-Cardenas, transported $242,980 in fraud proceeds to another co-defendant, Sinval De Oliveira, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on December 2, 2020.

Co-defendant Mario Amezcua-Cardenas, who is Moises Amezcua-Cardenas’s brother, was sentenced to 2 ½ years in federal prison on May 18, 2022. Co-defendant Sinval De Oliveira was sentenced to 5 years on June 8, 2022. All defendants were ordered to pay restitution.

The law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation include U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Merrill Police Department, Wausau Police Department, Everest Metropolitan Police Department, West Allis Police Department, Stevens Point Police Department, and Marathon County Sheriff’s Department, with special assistance from the Marathon County District Attorney’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith P. Duchemin prosecuted this case.

Moises Amezcua-Cardenas pleaded guilty to the offense on February 24, 2022. Because the defendant had already served 18 months in federal custody, the sentence was considered served.

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