HOUSTON – A San Fernando, California man has been ordered to federal prison for operating an illegal money transmitting business, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Victor Rubio Jr., 28, pleaded guilty on February 6. U.S. District Judge George Hanks has now ordered Rubio to serve the maximum 60 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.
In handing down the sentence, Judge Hanks noted Rubio had committed obstruction after writing his letter to the judge asking for leniency and apologizing for his first crime. Rubio operated an unlicensed money transmitting business that received and transmitted funds from a business email compromise (BEC) scheme.
As part of the plea, Rubio acknowledged opening and maintaining bank accounts to collect money from at least two victims in a BEC scheme, including a healthcare liability insurance company headquartered in Georgia and a township in New Jersey. Then, for a fee, he transmitted the fraud proceeds to co-conspirators.
In response to fraudulent wire instructions from spoofed email accounts, victims sent interstate wire transfers for payment to Rubio instead of to the true creditors to whom the victims owed money.
More than 45 people in multiple states, including Rubio and seven others in the Southern District of Texas, have been charged in separate business email compromise schemes that affected numerous victims.
Previously released on bond, Rubio was taken into custody where he will remain pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Related Federal Cases
- Victor Rubio Jr, Email Fraud, California 2024 · North Carolina
- Georgia Phillips, Medicaid Fraud Scheme, Texas 2024 · North Carolina
- Juelz Sincere Armstead, Sex Trafficking, Texas 2024 · Kansas
- Glen Ray Millican, Racketeering, Texas 2013 · Oklahoma
- Demi Mishel Muniz, Alien Smuggling Resulting In Death, Texas 2013 · Oklahoma
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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