Indian-American among 2 indicted by US court for role in cryptocurrency money laundering

(Illustration by Suneesh K.)

Two persons, including an Indian-American, have been indicted by a US court for their roles in a cryptocurrency money laundering scheme, the Department of Justice 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 receive victim money derived from a variety of fraud schemes and launder the proceeds through cryptocurrency.

They allegedly have routinely structured deposits to avoid transaction reporting requirements and to conceal the nature and source of the criminal proceeds, the Department of Justice said.

They allegedly exchanged the criminal proceeds for cryptocurrency and directed the cryptocurrency to wallets under the control of their foreign co-conspirators, it said.

In August 2020, Boyd and Mehtani travelled to Longview, Texas, where they attempted to exchange more than USD 4,50,000 for Bitcoin. They were temporarily detained and the money was seized. In the course of their operation, Boyd, Mehtani, and their co-conspirators allegedly laundered more than USD 7,50,000, the federal prosecutors alleged.