Romanian sentenced to prison in US for laundering over USD 3.5 mln in international fraud scheme
A Romanian national was sentenced to 89 months (over 7 years) in prison on January 9, 2023, for his role in a transnational, multimillion-dollar fraud scheme, the US Department of Justice announced. He was part of an international scheme that defrauded over 900 Americans.
The defendant, namely Ionut-Razvan Sandu (35), pleaded guilty last year in April for laundering over USD 3.5 million.
“This highly organized and sophisticated syndicate stole directly from the pockets of hard-working Americans. The criminals then used digital currency to launder their ill-gotten gains,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Between November 16 and 18, 2022, four other Romanian nationals were also sentenced for the same Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) offense: Rafael-Liviu Cucu, 33, to 61 months; Alexandru-Catalin Calin, 40, to 61 months; Ciprian-Ionut Filip, 37, to 70 months; and Gabriel Constantin Georgescu, 37, to 63 months.
In October 2014, Georgescu and other conspirators began plotting a money-laundering service by setting up false advertisements, mostly for used vehicles or similar goods, on popular sales websites to lure American victims, mostly from the working class. Sometimes, they used stolen IDs and employed several manipulative tactics, and even impersonated call centers for customer support.
Once the payment has been cleared, Sandu would convert it into cryptocurrency and transfer it to foreign-based money launderers, who then will convert it back to fiat currency. He's currently being detained at the Woodford County Detention Center in Kentucky, and the Bucharest Court of Appeal requested his extradition in September 2021.
“Today’s result is proof that the Criminal Division and our law enforcement partners will never stop pursuing cybercriminals who target the American public—no matter where these criminals reside, and no matter what tools they use to hide,” Polite added.
(Photo source: Yingko | Dreamstime.com)
