On November 18, 2022, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against 10 defendants for their engagement successful aggregate concern email compromise (BEC), wealth laundering, and ligament fraud schemes that targeted Medicare, authorities Medicaid programs, backstage wellness insurers, and different victims, resulting successful much than $11.1 cardinal successful losses.
The charges mostly impact schemes wherever individuals allegedly airs arsenic concern partners and fraudulently divert wealth from the victims’ slope accounts into accounts that they oregon their co-conspirators controlled. In these schemes, the individuals utilized spoofed email addresses, slope relationship takeovers, and different fraudulent methods meant to deceive victims into judge they were making morganatic payments.
Some of the activities included fraudulent emails from accounts resembling accounts from hospitals were sent to nationalist and backstage wellness security programs requesting that aboriginal reimbursements beryllium sent to slope accounts that did not beryllium to the hospitals. Five authorities Medicaid programs, 2 Medicare Administrative Contractors, and 2 backstage wellness insurers were allegedly deceived into making payments to those incorrect slope accounts alternatively of slope accounts that belonged to the hospitals.
The defendants and the co-conspirators past allegedly laundered the proceeds by withdrawing ample amounts of cash, layering them done different accounts they (or the co-conspirators) opened successful the names of mendacious and/or stolen identities and ammunition companies, transferring them overseas, and purchasing luxury goods and exotic automobiles.
Specific Charges
Nine of the defendants person lone been charged, portion 1 has already pled blameworthy to conspiracy to perpetrate wealth laundering and usage of a mendacious passport. That defendant, Adewale Adesanya, allegedly utilized a mendacious passport nether the sanction “Timi Graig” to make a ammunition institution to unfastened slope accounts to person and launder much than $1.5 cardinal from the schemes (and others).
Sauveur Blanchard Jr. was charged by indictment successful September 2021 with conspiracy to perpetrate wealth laundering and 4 substantive wealth laundering offenses. Blanchard allegedly opened slope accounts successful the names of assorted ammunition companies to person and launder much than $55,000 successful Medicaid payments intended for a hospital.
Malachi Mullings was charged successful February 2022 with conspiracy to perpetrate wealth laundering and 7 substantive wealth laundering offenses. Mullings allegedly utilized slope accounts opened successful the sanction of a ammunition institution (The Mullings Group LLC) to person and launder millions of dollars from these schemes.
Trion Thomas was charged by accusation successful September 2022 with conspiracy to perpetrate wealth laundering. Thomas allegedly received and laundered $93,000 of Medicare payments.
Biliamin Fagbewesa was charged by indictment successful November 2022 with 3 counts of wealth laundering and 1 number of unlawful procurement of naturalization. Fagbewesa allegedly utilized a stolen individuality to unfastened slope accounts successful the sanction of a ammunition institution to person much than $1.4 cardinal of fraudulently diverted proceeds intended for a authorities Medicaid program, a hospital, and others.
Olugbenga Abu was charged by indictment with 1 number of slope fraud, 1 number of ligament fraud, and 4 counts of wealth laundering. Aby allegedly utilized a mendacious individuality to unfastened a slope relationship that received and laundered fraud proceeds, arsenic good arsenic obtaining fraudulent loans successful excess of $400,000 from the Small Business Administration.
Chisom Okonkwo was charged by indictment with 3 counts of ligament fraud, 2 counts of aggravated individuality theft, and six counts of wealth laundering. Okonkwo allegedly utilized stolen and mendacious identities to unfastened accounts successful the names of ammunition companies that received astir $830,000 successful proceeds from BEC fraud and different akin schemes. Okonkwo allegedly besides paid for a luxury car done a fraudulent indebtedness she obtained successful the sanction of a stolen identity.
Cory Smith was charged by indictment with 3 counts of wealth laundering. Smith allegedly opened a slope relationship utilizing a mendacious individuality and utilized the relationship to person and launder much than $57,000 done a BEC scheme.
Desmond Nkwenya was charged by indictment with 2 counts of wealth laundering and 1 number of slope fraud. Nkwenya allegedly utilized mendacious identifies and ammunition companies to unfastened slope accounts and person much than $300,000 done BEC fraud and akin schemes. Nkwenya besides allegedly received $119,000 from a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program indebtedness application.
Patrick Ndong-Bike was charged by indictment with 4 counts of wealth laundering. Ndong-Bike allegedly utilized mendacious identifies and ammunition companies to person much than $2.4 cardinal of proceeds of BEC fraud and akin schemes. Ndong-Bike allegedly laundered and spent $679,000 of that money.
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