Month: August 2022

Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal criminal complaint has been filed charging Charles K. Egunjobi, age 48, of Waldorf, Maryland, with operating an unlicensed money service business relating to numerous online romance scams.  Egunjobi had his initial appearance today in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gina L. Simms.  He was released under the supervision of the United States pre-trial services.

The criminal complaint was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Andrew Hartwell of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General Fraud Detection Office (DOJ-OIG); and Acting Postal Inspector in Charge Tira Hayward of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service – Washington Division (USPIS).

According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Egunjobi is a financial auditor for the District of Columbia Government where he supports criminal investigations.

As alleged in the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, between September 2019 and April 2020, Egunjobi facilitated the money laundering operations of a romance scheme involving co-defendant Isidore Iwuagwu, age 35, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland. 

The alleged romance scam co-conspirators contacted victims on social media platforms and dating sites, engaged in online relationships with the victims, then convinced victims to send large sums of money claiming the funds were needed for purported personal hardships.  Many victims reported sending funds at the request of individuals claiming to be deployed members of the United States Armed Forces who asked for money for various personal hardships.  The alleged scam involved more than 20 victims, many of whom are senior citizens. 

For example, as detailed in the affidavit, one victim reports that she sent thousands of dollars to various individuals in the United States, including to Egunjobi, based on the instructions given to her by an individual she met on a dating website, who claimed to be a U.S. soldier deployed in Iraq. 

As stated in the criminal complaint, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Egunjobi’s residence on August 10, 2022.  As a result of the executed search warrant, law enforcement found what appeared to be a ledger, listing Egunjobi’s name, bank account information, dates of transactions, and notations.  Some of the transaction dates recorded in the ledger matched the victim’s money order transfers.

The affidavit further alleges that law enforcement discovered messages on Egunjobi’s phone from individuals asking Egunjobi to transfer money or vehicles from the United States to Nigeria.  Messages between Egunjobi and Iwuagwu allegedly indicate that Egunjobi assisted Iwuagwu to obtain Nigerian currency in exchange for Egunjobi receiving U.S. currency.

If convicted, Egunjobi faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for operating an unlicensed money service business.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

The Department of Justice runs the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311), has an interactive tool for elders who have been financially exploited to help determine to which agency they should report their incident, and also a senior scam alert website.  Victims are encouraged to file a complaint online with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at this website or by calling 1-800-225-5324.  Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov or at 877-FTC-HELP.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the DOJ-OIG and USPIS for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rajeev R. Raghavan and Jennifer L. Wine, who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

# # #

 

The Department of Justice announced today that more than $1.2 million in forfeited funds from an international tax fraud and money laundering case will be returned to the government of Romania. The funds are the proceeds of the sale of property located in the State of Washington that were owned by a Romanian couple who were extradited back to Romania at the request of the Romanian government.

According to records filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, in 2012, Romanian authorities asked the United States to extradite Radu and Diana Nemes to Romania to face charges of tax evasion and participating in an organized criminal group. The charges alleged that the Nemeses executed a scheme to avoid Romanian taxes on imported diesel fuel by claiming the fuel was a lower grade of industrial and maritime fuel. The untaxed income from the sale of the higher value diesel was laundered through a number of bank accounts and shell companies controlled by the Nemeses. 

Arrest warrants for the couple were issued in Romania in July 2012. Sometime before those warrants, the Nemeses had left Romania and resided near Yelm, Washington, on a large piece of property with an elaborate bunker system. Following their arrest in the United States, the couple waived extradition and agreed to be returned to Romania in early 2014. 

The couple’s assets in the United States were forfeited, including Yelm properties which were sold as part of the forfeiture process. The proceeds of that sale, $1,225,465, are being returned through a petition for remission to the government of Romania as a recovery on the tax fraud. The overall tax fraud scheme resulted in a $58.677 million loss to the Romanian government.

The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jehiel Baer of the Western District of Washington, in cooperation with the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) and the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS).

A New Mexico man was arrested today for allegedly attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and attempting to obstruct, influence and impede at least one official proceeding.

A federal grand jury indicted Herman Leyvoune Wilson, aka Bilal Mu’Min Abdullah, 45, of Albuquerque, on Aug. 23. Wilson will remain in custody pending an arraignment scheduled for Aug. 30.

According to the indictment and other court records, from Jan. 23, 2020, to Nov. 20, 2021, Wilson allegedly attempted to provide material support and resources to ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization. Wilson allegedly attempted to establish an “Islamic State Center” in New Mexico that would teach ISIS ideology, provide training in tactical maneuvers and martial arts, and serve as a safe haven for individuals preparing to travel and fight on behalf of ISIS in the United States and abroad.

Additionally, between Sept. 19, 2020, and October 2020, Wilson allegedly attempted to obstruct, influence and impede at least one official proceeding by commanding and inducing the destruction and concealment of records by shutting down an online platform. From May 2019 to September 2020, Wilson allegedly helped to administer an online platform to promote ISIS ideology, recruit others to ISIS ideology and discuss terrorist attacks in the United States and overseas. Wilson also allegedly used the online platform to promote the Islamic State Center and find potential like-minded individuals to join the center.

In September 2020, Kristopher Matthews and Jaylin Molina were arrested for providing material support to ISIS and later pleaded guilty in the Western District of Texas. Matthews and Molina admitted that Wilson radicalized them to ISIS’s ideology, and that without Wilson’s influence, they would never have committed the crimes. When Matthews and Molina were arrested, Wilson allegedly instructed online platform members to destroy evidence of their use of the group. Matthews and Molina were sentenced in July 2022 to 20 years and 18 years in prison, respectively.

If convicted, Wilson faces up to 20 years in prison for each count.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez for the District of New Mexico, and Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jon K. Stanford, Nicholas Mote and Tavo Hall are prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance provided by Trial Attorneys Frank Russo, Jessica Fender and John Cella of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.