US court indicts 2, including Indian-American, for role in cryptocurrency money laundering
Highlight
- A US court has indicted two people, including an Indian-American
- He has been indicted for his role in a cryptocurrency money laundering scheme.
A US court has indicted two individuals, including an Indian-American, for their role in a cryptocurrency money laundering scheme, the Justice Department said.
Lois Boyd, and Manik Mehtani – both from Virginia – face up to 20 years in federal prison.
According to the indictment, Boyd and Mehtani are alleged to have conspired with others to obtain victim funds from various fraudulent schemes and to launder proceeds through cryptocurrencies.
The Justice Department said they allegedly regularly held structured deposits to evade transaction reporting requirements and to hide the nature and source of criminal proceeds.
He allegedly exchanged criminal proceeds for cryptocurrency and directed the cryptocurrency into wallets controlled by his foreign co-conspirators, it said.
In August 2020, Boyd and Mehtani traveled to Longview, Texas, where they attempted to exchange over USD 450,000 for bitcoin.
He was temporarily detained and the money was confiscated. Federal prosecutors alleged that during their operation, Boyd, Mehtani and their co-conspirators allegedly laundered more than US$750,000.
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