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Category: Fraud

  • Man Pleads Guilty to Laundering Money for Cybercriminals Through Mule Network

    Man Pleads Guilty to Laundering Money for Cybercriminals Through Mule Network

    A man accused of helping run an international money-laundering network that relied on more than 15,000 unwitting money mules pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court on Thursday.

    Oleg Korniev, 42, a dual Ukrainian-Russian citizen, was a principal of Your Mule Cashout (YMCO). From 2007 to 2014, the operation recruited people in the United States, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Australia through websites posing as legitimate companies offering jobs.

    Applicants were put through what appeared to be a standard hiring process, including an employment test and reviews of contracts and company policies. They were then asked to enter their bank details on a fake company website and told to receive payments and forward them to overseas business accounts.

    Authorities say YMCO laundered at least $10 million for hackers who used malware to access 750 U.S. bank accounts. Most of the stolen money was sent to Eastern Europe through Western Union or MoneyGram. There, “cash-out contractors” collected the funds and returned them to YMCO in exchange for a share.

    Korniev was arrested in North Carolina last December, nearly nine years after a grand jury indicted him and Serghei Ivanovich Tomuz, a Moldovan national alleged to have led YMCO’s cash-out operation in Moldova.

    The case against Tomuz was terminated in U.S. federal court in May. He was reportedly arrested at a Romanian border crossing in May 2022 and challenged his extradition to the United States.

    Four Ukrainians linked to YMCO pleaded guilty to money-laundering conspiracy charges and were sentenced in 2018 to prison terms ranging from 37 to 63 months.

    Korniev pleaded guilty to money laundering, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, conspiracy to commit access-device theft and aggravated identity theft. He faces a minimum sentence of two years and a maximum of 50 years in prison.

  • Former TD Bank Employee Pleads Guilty in $4.8 Million Money Laundering Scheme

    Former TD Bank Employee Pleads Guilty in $4.8 Million Money Laundering Scheme

    Former TD Bank Employee Pleads Guilty in Money Laundering and Bribery Scheme

    A former bank employee has pleaded guilty to helping move millions of dollars in illicit funds to Colombia in exchange for bribes, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

    Gerardo Aquino, 40, of Hollywood, Florida, admitted Tuesday to conspiring to launder money and accepting bribes while working at TD Bank. Federal prosecutors say the scheme ran from April 2022 to November 2023.

    During that period, Aquino allegedly used a commercial address in Miami to open 86 fraudulent bank accounts. He also issued hundreds of debit cards and helped restore access to other accounts that had been restricted over suspected fraudulent activity.

    The accounts were used to transfer more than $3 million to Colombia. Investigators estimate that the broader operation involved approximately $4.8 million. In return for his assistance, Aquino received more than $8,000 in cash and digital payments, the Justice Department said.

    Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said Aquino misused the trust placed in him as a bank employee for personal gain. Duva also warned that bank insiders who assist criminal organizations in laundering money or carrying out illegal activity can expect to face investigation and prosecution.

    Aquino faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for conspiring to launder money and up to 30 years for receiving bribes as a bank employee. His sentencing is scheduled for March 23, 2027.

    The Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Office of Inspector General investigated the case.

  • Minneapolis Bank Teller Accused of Stealing Nearly $41,000

    Minneapolis Bank Teller Accused of Stealing Nearly $41,000

    A Minneapolis bank teller is accused of stealing nearly $41,000 by falsifying records and replacing real cash with counterfeit bills, according to a criminal complaint.

    Kendrell Lashawna Maliya Stuart, 25, faces a felony theft-by-swindle charge tied to the U.S. Bank branch where she worked at 4930 34th Avenue South. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

    A bank investigator told the court that an audit uncovered a series of cash shortages. The branch vault was reportedly short $32,000 on May 30, 2026, and another $1,000 on June 1. On June 5, Stuart reported that $1,999.94 was missing from her assigned cash box. She then stopped coming to work and requested a leave of absence.

    The complaint alleges that a June 9 audit found $6,000 in counterfeit “motion picture money” stored with mutilated currency. Bank records and surveillance footage reportedly showed Stuart recording cash transfers from her cash box to the vault without depositing the cash.

    Stuart had not returned to work by July 29, and the bank later terminated her, according to the complaint. Minneapolis police received a report of the alleged theft on August 19.

    A Hennepin County judge issued an arrest warrant and set bail at $100,000. Stuart is not in custody. The complaint says social media posts suggest she may be in the Bahamas, her native home.

  • Boston Man Pleads Guilty in $900,000 Bank Fraud and Identity Theft Scheme

    Boston Man Pleads Guilty in $900,000 Bank Fraud and Identity Theft Scheme

    William Shaw, 68, of Boston, pleaded guilty to four counts of bank fraud and four counts of aggravated identity theft,

    according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.


    Prosecutors said Shaw impersonated at least 13 bank customers between late 2022 and early 2025.

    He allegedly used forged driver’s licenses featuring the victims’ personal details and his own photograph,

    along with withdrawal forms bearing their names and account numbers, to obtain cash and cashier’s checks totaling more than $900,000.

    U.S. District Judge Julia E. Kobick scheduled Shaw’s sentencing for January 6, 2027. He was charged in January 2026.

    The case is connected to a broader, multi-state bank fraud investigation involving Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

    Six other men were charged in July 2025. Three have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing, while another was sentenced in a related case.


    Bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million—or twice the amount gained or lost.

    Each aggravated identity theft count carries a mandatory minimum of two years in prison, to be served consecutively to any other sentence.
    Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Kearney is prosecuting the case.

  • Couple Convicted in $13 Million Fake Transit Funding Scheme

    Couple Convicted in $13 Million Fake Transit Funding Scheme

    A New Jersey woman and her Colombian husband have been found guilty of trying to obtain more than $13 million in federal funding intended to support elderly, disabled and homeless people, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

    A federal jury in Utica, New York, convicted Jael Watts, 45, of Alloway, New Jersey, and Luis Pino-Copete, 42, of Bogotá, Colombia. Prosecutors said they used Pearl Transit Corporation, a New Jersey shell company, to claim they provided medical transportation and outreach services for homeless people across the country, though the company delivered no genuine services.

    From July 2019 to October 2025, the couple submitted more than $13 million in allegedly fraudulent claims and received over $1.6 million from agencies in Georgia, California and North Carolina, according to the DOJ.

    Evidence presented at trial showed that they created false payroll records and client lists using stolen identities, including those of deceased people. They also listed drivers who did not have licenses or had never driven a car.

    Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald said the defendants used fabricated records and identities to divert funds intended for vulnerable Americans.

    The DOJ said bank records showed more than $100,000 in Porsche rentals and more than $100,000 in purchases at Manhattan luxury retailer Loro Piana. The records also documented months of travel in Colombia, Aruba and Europe.

    Watts was convicted of making a false statement, aggravated identity theft and five counts of wire fraud. Both defendants were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, submitting a false document and aggravated identity theft.

    They are scheduled to be sentenced on January 21, 2027. Each faces up to 20 years in prison, fines of up to $250,000 and at least $1.9 million in restitution. Pino-Copete may also face deportation after serving any prison sentence.

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