Parker Man Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering in Stock Scam

Corey Earl Engelen, 47, of Parker, Colorado, pleaded guilty last week to money laundering in a brazen stock trading fraud that stole $695,000 from unsuspecting investors. The plea, entered before U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello in Denver, marks a key conviction in a scheme built on lies, offshore trusts, and luxury cars paid for with stolen cash.

Engelen and co-defendant Michael Todd Osborn were indicted by a federal grand jury on February 11, 2015, after investigators unraveled a complex web of deceit. According to the indictment and plea agreement, the two were linked as early as July 2009. Engelen began bankrolling Osborn’s bail payments on unrelated charges and later helped cover his living expenses during an extended stay at a California hotel in October of that year—where the groundwork for the fraud was laid.

The scam kicked off in December 2009 when Osborn began soliciting investors, falsely claiming he would trade stocks on their behalf. He directed victims to wire their money to accounts held under the name Infinite One, LLC—accounts actually opened and controlled by Engelen. No trades were ever made. All $695,000 went straight into Engelen’s pockets, vanishing into mortgage payments, car loans, daily expenses, and even lavish trips to Europe and Africa.

Engelen admitted he knowingly used criminal proceeds, wiring $44,915.76 from the Infinite One account on June 2, 2009, to Dream Motor Cars for a Mercedes-Benz purchased for Osborn. At the time, Engelen chose to ignore the obvious red flags about where the money came from. That deliberate ignorance sealed his fate: he committed a felony by engaging in a monetary transaction involving funds derived from wire fraud.

‘If you buy luxury cars with money you know is criminal proceeds, you are laundering money, and we will prosecute you for it,’ said Acting U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer. Steven Osborne, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in Denver, added, ‘Honest and law abiding citizens are fed up with the likes of those who use deceit and fraud to line their pockets with other people’s money.’

Engelen faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Sentencing is set for January 31, 2017. Osborn, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering on February 9, 2016, is scheduled for sentencing on December 1, 2016. The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation with support from the IRS Special Enforcement Program and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Linda Kaufman and Bishop Grewell.

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