Press Release
☷Texas Man and Arkansas Woman Arrested for Running Illegal Money Transmitting Business
Federal Bureau of Investigation ( By Press Release office)
Apr 29,2022
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Texas Man and Arkansas Woman Arrested for Running Illegal Money Transmitting Business Defendants allegedly laundered proceeds of international Ponzi - style investment fraud schemes BOSTON – A Texas man and an Arkansas woman were arrested today in connection with allegedly operating a money transmitting business that laundered the proceeds of online investment fraud schemes . Charles Ochi , 27 , of Grand Prairie , Texas , and Danielle Liggins , 32 , of Little Rock , Ark . , were charged with one count of conspiracy to conduct an unlicensed money transmitting business . Ochi and Liggins were arrested this morning in the Northern District of Texas and the Western District of Arkansas , respectively , and will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date . According to the charging document , Ochi met Liggins in Texas through a dating website and convinced Liggins to help him run a cryptocurrency company , even though Liggins did not know anything about cryptocurrency . It is alleged that Ochi and Liggins used two sham companies to transmit proceeds of Ponzi - style investment fraud schemes based in Nigeria . Specifically , the schemes purported to offer trading and Bitcoin investing services when , in fact , investor funds were stolen and later victims’ investments were used to pay purported returns to earlier investors . To conduct the scheme , Liggins allegedly opened bank accounts at Ochi’s direction and used sham businesses , Global Prime and Liggins Starflexx Commercial , to receive money from investing victims , which she either withdrew or mailed to individuals designated by Ochi using cashier’s checks . For each transaction , Ochi paid Liggins about $1 , 000 . Liggins and Ochi allegedly transmitted fraud proceeds from at least three online investment fraud schemes , with victims in Massachusetts , California , Florida and Canada . Ochi and Liggins did not hold money transmitting licenses in Texas , nor were they registered as money transmitters as required by federal law . The charge of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison , three years of supervised release and a fine of $250 , 000 or twice the value of the laundered funds , whichever is greater . Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U . S . Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case . United States Attorney Rachael S . Rollins; Joseph R . Bonavolonta , Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation , Boston Division; Joleen D . Simpson , Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston; and Jennifer De La O , Director of Field Operations of U . S . Customs and Border Protection , Boston Field Office made the announcement today . Valuable assistance was provided by the Division of Enforcement at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission . Assistant U . S . Attorney Kriss Basil of Rollins’ Securities , Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case . The details contained in the charging document are allegations . The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law .
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