Money Mule Masters Busted in $12M Scam

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A group of brazen money mules has been brought to justice, thanks to a joint effort by federal agencies in a massive $12M scheme. The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Western District of North Carolina joined forces with the Justice Department, FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and other federal law enforcement agencies to announce the completion of the Money Mule Initiative, an annual campaign to identify, disrupt, and criminally prosecute networks of individuals who transmit funds from fraud victims to international fraudsters.

According to the indictment, the money mules were involved in a range of fraud schemes, including lottery fraud, romance scams, and grandparent scams, which predominantly impact older Americans. The suspects relied on unsuspecting individuals to facilitate their crimes, using complex schemes to defraud businesses and individuals out of millions.

“Criminals perpetrating lucrative financial schemes that defraud unsuspecting American businesses and individual consumers are serious threats to our economic security and stability,” said U.S. Attorney King. “Through our collaboration with our law enforcement counterparts, we aim to identify and dismantle money mule networks and bring perpetrators to justice. Equally important are our efforts to increase public awareness, by educating consumers on how to avoid becoming unwitting money mules and understanding the risks and consequences of being involved in this illegal activity.”

As part of this year’s initiative, law enforcement took action to stop over 3,000 money mules responsible for facilitating a range of fraud schemes. These thousands of actions ranged from criminal prosecutions designed to punish those intentionally assisting fraudsters to warning letters intended to advise those who may have been unknowingly recruited by fraudsters. Agencies are also conducting outreach to educate the public about how fraudsters use money mules and how to avoid unknowingly assisting fraud by receiving and transferring money.

More than 20 individuals were criminally charged for knowingly receiving and forwarding victim funds or otherwise laundering fraud proceeds. The charges include:

• Two men, ages 34 and 42, from Charlotte, N.C., for allegedly laundering over $4.5 million in proceeds of business email compromise schemes and online romance scams targeting elderly victims. The defendants opened bank accounts to receive wires and other transfers of funds from fraud victims. The defendants then withdrew and transferred the fraud proceeds, including transfers into overseas accounts, and kept a portion of the proceeds for themselves.
• Five defendants, ages 25-40, from the New York and New Jersey area, for allegedly acting as couriers who went to the homes of elderly victims of a grandparent scam to pick up cash, often using false names and providing victims with fake receipts. The couriers then brought the cash to other members of the conspiracy, who sent the victims’ money to the Dominican Republic.
• Three men, ages 28-35, from St. Louis, Mo., for their roles in allegedly collecting and transmitting funds from victims of a nationwide tech support fraud scam targeting the elderly. According to charges, one of the defendants recruited college students to act as couriers to collect payments from victims around the country and to fraudulently open bank accounts into which the proceeds of the scam would be deposited.

“The Justice Department is committed to using every tool at our disposal to protect Americans from fraud,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “By working with our federal partners to disrupt money mule networks, educate consumers about scams, and prosecute criminals, we can keep money out of the hands of international fraudsters and in the pockets of hard-working Americans.”