Tag Archives: Money Laundering Scheme

Fraud News From World

Attorney Admits Guilt in Hiding Millions for Convicted Fraudsters

Leave a comment

A South Carolina attorney has admitted to playing a role in concealing funds tied to a massive California-based fraud operation. Peter J. Strauss, formerly of the Strauss Law Firm, pleaded guilty to charges related to the obstruction of asset seizure by federal authorities.

  • Strauss, specializing in estate planning and asset protection, was implicated in the aftermath of a raid on DC Solar Solutions. Federal investigators uncovered that DC Solar executives Jeff and Paulette Carpoff had orchestrated a vast investment fraud and money laundering scheme involving the creation of fictitious solar generators.
  • Following the seizure of DC Solar assets, Strauss received millions of dollars from the Carpoffs. He then played a role in distributing those funds in an attempt to shield them from federal seizure.
  • Jeff and Paulette Carpoff have both been convicted and sentenced to extensive prison terms for their actions in the complex fraud.
  • Strauss now faces his own potential penalties, including up to five years imprisonment, substantial fines, and restitution.

Original Pressreleases…

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Peter J. Strauss, 45, of Beaufort, has pleaded guilty to removal of property to prevent seizure.

Strauss was the founder and managing partner of the Strauss Law Firm, LLC located in Hilton Head. The Strauss Law Firm specialized in estate and tax planning, asset protection and the implementation of captive insurance solutions for clients. Strauss also served as principal of Hamilton Captive Management (“HCM”), a captive insurance management company that provides management services to his clients’ captive insurance funds.

Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that Strauss knowingly transferred millions of dollars for Jeff and Paulette Carpoff, two individuals who have since been convicted and sentenced for their roles in the largest criminal fraud scheme in the Eastern District of California.

Jeff and Paulette Carpoff owned and operated DC Solar Solutions, Inc. and DC Solar Distribution, Inc. (“DC Solar”), California corporations that designed, manufactured and leased renewable energy products, specializing predominantly in the production of mobile solar generators.

On Dec. 18, 2018, the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies executed numerous search warrants on the businesses associated with DC Solar, as well as the personal residences of Jeff and Paulette Carpoff. Several seizure warrants were also executed on bank accounts and assets associated with DC Solar and its principals. The search warrants were conducted in conjunction with a large-scale investigation regarding an investment fraud and money laundering scheme being operated by the principals of DC Solar. At the time, federal authorities alleged that the Carpoffs committed wire fraud and tax fraud and diverted investors’ money for personal use. Federal authorities further alleged that DC Solar manufactured only a small percentage of the mobile solar generators and created fictitious lease agreements to show their investors in order to obtain investments. 

Following the execution of search and seizure warrants related to an investigation into the Carpoffs’ company, Strauss received $11 million from the Carpoffs. On Dec. 19, 2018, the first $5 million was transferred into Strauss’ IOLTA account and thereafter distributed to various criminal defense attorneys and bankruptcy counsel and to Carpoffs’ captive insurance funds, managed by Strauss’ captive insurance management company. Thereafter, on Dec. 28, 2018, Strauss received an additional $3 million, used to pay for the Carpoffs’ captive insurance fund premiums.

Finally, on Jan. 15, 2019, the Carpoffs wired Strauss $3 million into Strauss’ IOLTA account. Thereafter, the funds were comingled in Strauss’ IOLTA account and completely spent over the next few months. By pleading guilty, Strauss admitted that by the time of the $3 million transfer on Jan. 15, 2019, he knowingly transferred and aided and abetted the transfer of funds from Carpoff to prevent and impair the government’s lawful authority to take such property into its custody and control. The defendant has agreed to pay $2,700,000 in restitution to the Federal Clerk of Court at or before the sentencing.

On Jan. 24, 2020, Jeff Carpoff pleaded guilty in California to money laundering and wire fraud and was thereafter sentenced to 30 years in prison. On Nov. 9, 2021, Paulette Carpoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and money laundering. Paulette was sentenced to 11 years and three months on June 28, 2022.

Strauss faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000, restitution, and three of supervision to follow the term of imprisonment.  United States District Judge Richard M. Gergel accepted the guilty plea and will sentence Strauss after receiving and reviewing a sentencing report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Limehouse is prosecuting the case.

Fraud News From World

Financial Fraud: Lawrence Hoskins Was Sentenced For His Role In a Multi-Year, Multimillion-Dollar Money Laundering Scheme

Leave a comment

Former Senior Alstom Executive Sentenced to Prison for Role in Money Laundering Scheme to Promote Foreign Bribery

A former senior executive with Alstom S.A. (Alstom), a French power and transportation company, was sentenced in federal court in New Haven, Connecticut, to 15 months in prison today for his role in a multi-year, multimillion-dollar money laundering scheme designed to promote violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney John H. Durham of the District of Connecticut and Assistant Director in Charge Paul D. Delacout of the FBI’s Los Angeles Office made the announcement.

Lawrence Hoskins, 69, was sentenced on charges of conspiracy and money laundering, following his conviction in November 2019, after a one-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton, who imposed today’s sentence. In addition to his prison term, Hoskins was fined $30,000.

According to the evidence presented at trial, Hoskins was a senior vice president for Alstom’s International Network, who engaged in a conspiracy to promote the payment of bribes to officials in Indonesia in exchange for assistance in securing a $118 million contract, known as the Tarahan project, for Alstom Power Inc. of Connecticut and its consortium partner, Marubeni Corporation, to provide power-related services for the citizens of Indonesia. The officials in Indonesia included a high-ranking member of the Indonesian Parliament and the President of Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), the state-owned and state-controlled electricity company in Indonesia. To conceal the bribes, Hoskins and his co-conspirators retained two consultants purportedly to provide legitimate consulting services on behalf of Alstom Power Inc., in connection with the Tarahan project. The primary purpose of hiring the consultants was to conceal the bribes to Indonesian officials, the evidence showed.

The first consultant retained by Hoskins and other members of the conspiracy received hundreds of thousands of dollars in his Maryland bank account to be used to bribe the member of Parliament, the evidence showed. The consultant then transferred the bribe money to a bank account in Indonesia for the benefit of the official. According to emails admitted at trial, Hoskins and other co-conspirators discussed in detail the use of the first consultant to funnel bribes to the member of Parliament and the influence that the member of Parliament could exert over the Tarahan project, including referring to him as a “cashier.”

The trial evidence further showed that, in the fall of 2003, Hoskins and his co-conspirators determined that the first consultant was not effectively bribing key officials at PLN, who expressed concerns that the first consultant was just going to give them “pocket money” and “disappear” after Alstom Power Inc. won the project. As a result, the co-conspirators retained a second consultant to more effectively bribe PLN officials. Evidence revealed that Hoskins and his co-conspirators pressed Alstom Power Inc. to front-load the second consultant’s terms of payment in order to “get the right influence” due to upcoming elections. Hoskins and his co-conspirators were successful in securing the Tarahan project and subsequently made payments to the consultants for the purpose of bribing the Indonesian officials.

The FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office is investigating the case with assistance from the FBI’s Meriden, Connecticut, Resident Agency. The department appreciates the significant cooperation provided by its law enforcement colleagues in Indonesia, Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General and the United Kingdom, as well as authorities in France, Germany, Italy, Singapore and Taiwan.

Senior Deputy Chief Daniel S. Kahn and Assistant Chief Lorinda Laryea of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney David E. Novick of the District of Connecticut are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting all FCPA matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/foreign-corrupt-practices-act.

Fraud News From World

Money Laundering: Corey Earl Engelen Indictment to Money Laundering

Leave a comment

Parker Man Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering in Connection with Stock Trading Scheme

DENVER – Corey Earl Engelen, age 47, of Parker, Colorado pled guilty last week before U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello to money laundering announced Acting United States Attorney Robert C. Troyer and IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Steven Osborne.  Engelen and his co-defendant Michael Todd Osborn were indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on February 11, 2015.  Engelen is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Arguello on January 31, 2017.

According to the indictment and plea agreement, Engelen and Osborn were introduced to each other in approximately July 2009.  Beginning immediately, Engelen began assisting Osborn by finding and providing funds to pay his bail bondsman on charges in cases unrelated to the crimes charged in the District of Colorado.  In October, the two stayed for an extended period in a California hotel. During that time, Engelen helped pay Osborn’s living expenses and began the process of finding an off-shore trust for their future use.

Meanwhile, Osborn developed a scheme to defraud investors. He falsely represented to them that he would use their funds to trade stocks on their behalf. Beginning in December 2009, Osborn instructed investors to wire their funds to accounts held in the name of Infinite One, LLC, which he represented to be the trading accounts he would use for the trades.  In fact, the accounts were not trading accounts and were never used for trading.  They were merely checking accounts opened and held by Engelen. All of the investors’ funds, $695,000, were deposited directly to Engelen’s Infinite One, LLC accounts, and the investors got nothing in return.

Engelen and Osborn used investors’ funds for their own personal benefit. Engelen used his share of the funds to make his home mortgage and car payments, to cover his day-to-day living expenses, and to travel to Europe and Africa. In June 2010, Engelen engaged in monetary transactions using the investors’ funds, knowing that the funds were the proceeds of some criminal activity.  The funds he used were in fact the proceeds of Osborn’s wire fraud. Engelen admitted that on June 2, 2009, when he wired $44,915.76 from the Infinite One account to the account of Dream Motor Cars for the purchase of a Mercedes Benz for Osborn, he chose to avoid learning about what Osborn was actually doing to acquire those funds, and committed the felony offense of engaging in a monetary transaction in property derived from specified unlawful activity, 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.

“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,”   said Steven Osborne, IRS Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge, Denver Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to bring our forensic accounting skills to this joint venture and help put a stop to this and other types of white collar crime.”

Engelen pled guilty to one count of money laundering which carries a penalty of not more than 10 years in federal prison, and a fine of up to $250,000.  Osborn pled guilty on February 9, 2016 to wire fraud and money laundering and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Arguello on December 1, 2016.

This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation with assistance from the Special Enforcement Program of the Internal Revenue Service.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Linda Kaufman and Bishop Grewell.

Original PressReleases…

Fraud, Fraud News From World

Financial Fraud: David Cary Ford Sentenced For Money Laundering Scheme And Defrauding Estates

Leave a comment

Louisville Attorney Sentenced To 48 Months In Federal Prison For Money Laundering Scheme And Defrauding Estates Of More Than $1.6 Million

Ordered to pay $1,602,327.14 to multiple victims including $268,459.06 to St. Mary’s Church and $245,993.67 to WHAS Crusade for Children

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr. announced today that David Cary Ford, 54, of Louisville, Kentucky, was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison following his conviction on criminal counts of wire fraud and money laundering, stemming from Ford’s actions while he was a practicing attorney and the executor of seven estates in Louisville.

“Attorneys are professionally and ethically bound to serve their clients’ best interests,” stated U.S. Attorney John Kuhn.  “We simply cannot tolerate attorneys or any other fiduciaries using their positions of trust to steal from those they are obligated to protect.  This prosecution serves the principle of justice and vindicates the breach of a trust that is an absolutely essential component of a multitude of professional relationships.”

Ford previously pled guilty to charges alleging that from November 6, 2008, through February 11, 2015, Ford, while serving as executor of the estates of Saundra A. Benzinger, Kenneth L. Keith, William T. Lawson, Mary Helen Pfeffer, Elinor E. Starr, Mary Augustine Starr, and Richard Steinmetz, defrauded those estates of approximately $1,666,671.18, and used those estates’ funds for personal expenses and enjoyment, including significant gambling activity.

Ford also pled guilty to laundering proceeds of his fraud by using funds belonging to one estate to conceal the depletion of funds from another estate.  In pleading guilty, Ford admitted using his escrow account for this purpose with the intent to promote the carrying on of his fraud and to conceal or disguise the nature of the proceeds of his fraud.

As part of his sentence, Ford was ordered to pay over $1.6 million in restitution to 21 different victims who would have received that amount, according to bequests in the wills written by the individuals whose estates were defrauded, if not for Ford’s fraud.  Those victims and the restitution they are owed include $245,993.67 that would have gone to the WHAS Crusade For Children and $5,598.59 for the Little Sisters of the Poor.

The restitution order also includes several Catholic religious organizations.  Local victims included St. Mary’s Church ($268,459.06), St. Francis of Assisi Church ($44,743.18), Holy Family Catholic Church ($2,799.30), Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church ($2,799.30) and the Archdiocese of Louisville ($89,486.35).

Other victims included the Passionist Community ($245,993.67), the Passionist Nuns ($245,993.67), the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton ($134,229.53), the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, Inc. ($134,229.53), the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, Inc. ($44,743.18), the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s ($44,743.18), the Nazareth Literary and Benevolent Institution, Inc. ($44,743.18).

In addition, restitution was ordered for seven individuals, named only by their initials in court documents, who would have received bequests from the wills at issue if not for Ford’s fraud.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jason Snyder, and it results from an investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Original PressReleases…

Fraud, Fraud News From World

Financial Fraud: Reginald Perkins Sentenced For Money Laundering Scheme

Leave a comment

Inmate Sentenced for Operating a Fake Jury Duty Money Laundering Scheme from Georgia State Prison

ATLANTA – Autry State Prison inmate Reginald Perkins has been sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison for laundering $1 million in fraud proceeds arising from a “jury duty” telemarketing scam conducted by inmates at Georgia Department of Corrections (GDOC) prisons.

“Prisons should be the one place where we have confidence that multi-million-dollar telemarketing schemes are not being conducted,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn.  “Cases like this show how much needs to be done to make sure that those who are convicted and sentenced to prison are not still victimizing citizens from behind bars.  We are working with state and federal law enforcement to eradicate the illegal use of cell phones and fraud in our Georgia state prisons, and will continue to prosecute offenders, whether they are in or out of prison.”

“This case showcases the criminal possibilities available to inmates with cell phones/smartphones and, with today’s sentencing of Mr. Perkins, it also illustrates the punishment available to those inmates who obtain and use them.  The FBI will continue to work with its various law enforcement partners in not only addressing these types of inmate based crimes but also in preventing inmates access to these cell phones that provide the means to do so much harm to the unsuspecting public,” said J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Perkins laundered fraud proceeds while incarcerated at Jimmy Autry State Prison in Pelham, Georgia, which is a Georgia Department of Corrections medium security prison and houses approximately 1,700 adult male inmates.

While Perkins was serving his sentence at Autry, inmates regularly obtained cellular telephones. For example, from 2014 to 2015, officials seized more than 23,500 cellular telephones from inside Georgia state prisons. Many of the seized cellular telephones possessed Internet capabilities and the latest smartphone features. The possession of cellular telephones by inmates creates a significant risk to prison security and to public safety, as inmates used contraband cellular telephones to commit various criminal acts while incarcerated.

Inmates used contraband cellular telephones from inside Autry to access Internet websites to identify the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of potential fraud victims. Using the cellular telephones, inmates called the victims whose names and numbers had been obtained. During these calls, the inmates made certain false representations to the victims, including (a) that the inmates were law enforcement officials; (b) that the victims had unlawfully failed to appear for jury duty; (c) that because the victims had failed to appear for jury duty, warrants had been issued for the victims’ arrest; and (d) that the victims had a choice of being arrested on the warrants or pay fines to have the arrest warrants dismissed. To make the calls seem real, the inmates created fictitious voicemail greetings on their contraband cellular telephones, identifying themselves as members of legitimate law enforcement agencies.

For those victims who wanted to pay a fine, the inmates instructed them to purchase pre-paid cash cards and provide the account number of the cash card or wire money directly into a pre-paid debit card account held by the inmates. Based on these false representations, the victims electronically transferred money to the inmates because they believed that the funds would be used to pay the fine for failing to appear for jury duty and would result in the dismissal of the arrest warrant.

Perkins admitted that he would take the account number of the pre-paid cash card and contacted his co-conspirators, who were not incarcerated, to have those individuals transfer the money from the cash card purchased by the victims to a pre-paid debit card possessed by the co-conspirators. Next, the co-conspirators withdrew the victim’s money, which had been transferred to the pre-paid debit card they controlled, via an automated teller machine or at a retail store. Typically, the co-conspirators then laundered the stolen money by purchasing a new cash card so that the victims’ funds could be transferred back to the inmates. Perkins worked with about 100 individuals outside of the prison and laundered approximately $1 million in proceeds from fraud and other illegal schemes.

Reginald Perkins, 36, of Atlanta, Georgia, has been sentenced to 12 years, seven months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.  Perkins was convicted on these charges on March 22, 2016, after he pleaded guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Christopher J. Huber prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s

Original PressReleases …