Archive

April 27, 2023

Gary James Harmon will spend 51 months in prison for stealing 712 bitcoin subject to forfeiture. Gary’s brother, Larry Dean Harmon, operated a cryptocurrency money laundering service on the darknet, with large amounts of said money coming from darknet markets. Knowing the government was attempting to seize Larry’s crypto, Gary transferred the $4.8 million in bitcoin to his own accounts, using Larry’s credentials to effectuate the transfer. DOJ, USAO DC

March 17, 2023

A man in New York who laundered millions of dollars of criminal proceeds from a panoply of illegal schemes—including computer hacking, healthcare fraud, loan fraud involving Small Business Administration (SBA) funds, and operating an unlicensed international money transmitting business—has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.  According to the DOJ, Djonibek Rahmankulov worked with computer hackers to gain control of U.S. bank accounts, then executed millions of dollars of fraudulent wire transfers into accounts controlled by him and his associates.  He also worked with pharmacies to launder millions of dollars of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements for HIV medications that were not actually dispensed or legally obtained.  During the pandemic, Rahmankulov submitted fraudulent applications to the SBA for his companies, laundered the proceeds, and made false statements to financial institutions regarding his activities.  Finally during his trial, he repeatedly sought to obstruct justice by threatening a witness and producing fraudulent letters of support from the community.  USAO SDNY

January 24, 2023

Popular Bank was fined $2.3 million by the Federal Reserve Board following an investigation into its processing of Paycheck Protection Program loans.  Popular Bank was approved as a PPP lender by the Small Business Administration, and was required to follow the Bank Secrecy Act and program guidelines, including verification of customer identity and the documentation, investigation, and reporting of suspicious activities.  The Board’s Consent Order found that in August 2020, the Bank processed and funded six PPP loans, totaling approximately $1.1 million, despite having detected that the loan applications contained significant indicia of potential fraud.  The Bank self-reported to the Board.  Fed

November 21, 2022

Todd and Julie Chrisley, married television personalities and newly-convicted fraudsters, will spend 12 and 7 years in federal prison, respectively, for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit tax evasion. The Chrisleys defrauded Atlanta-area community banks to obtain more than $36 million in personal loans by submitting false banking and personal financial statements. After funding their lavish, undeserved lifestyle with the multi-million-dollar loans, Todd Chrisley filed bankruptcy, walking away from over $20 million in loans. Both before and during the trial, the Chrisleys attempted to obstruct justice, including by submitting a fraudulent document in response to a grand jury subpoena. In addition to serving time in prison, the Chrisleys will be required to pay restitution in an amount to be determined later. USAO NDGA