Lynn Man Pleads Guilty to Role in $1.4 Million Bank Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme
BOSTON A Lynn man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston in connection with receiving and laundering approximately $1.4 million fraudulently obtained from a Korean company.
Chukwuemeka Eze, 37, pleaded guilty to bank fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft charges. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for Feb. 3, 2020. Eze, 37, of Lynn, was arrested on a criminal complaint in June 2019, and is being held in federal custody.
Eze admitted that he used a victims name, date of birth and Social Security number without permission to open bank accounts in the victims name and in the name of a fictitious Massachusetts corporation that Eze created, Levistronix GMB Ltd. Eze selected the name for Levistronix because of its similarity to Levitronix GmbH, an actual Swiss company. In May and June 2018, others involved in the scheme sent fake Levitronix invoices totaling approximately $1.4 million to a Korean company that was a Levitronix customer. The fake invoices directed the company to send the $1.4 million to Ezes deceptively-named Massachusetts bank account.
When Eze received the money, he withdrew cash, and spent tens of thousands of dollars on retail purchases, including Apple laptops and Zales jewelry. He also purchased $700,000 in bank checks payable to other fictitious companies that he controlled, which he deposited into bank accounts in those companies names. Eze in turn made cash withdrawals, retail purchases, and wire transfers from those bank accounts, all to conceal the fact that the money was the proceeds of the fraud scheme. In doing so, Eze spent or disbursed more than $862,000 of the Korean companys money.
Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/lynn-man-pleads-guilty-role-14-million-bank-fraud-and-money-laundering-scheme