Boston – A 75-year-old man from Rhode Island was handed a federal prison sentence yesterday in Boston for his involvement in laundering over $35 million from online scams.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Justice, Craig Clayton, from Cranston, R.I., received a four-year incarceration term from U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns, followed by three years of supervised release and a $40,000 restitution order. Clayton admitted guilt in May 2025 to one count each of conspiring to launder money and obstructing justice. He faced initial charges via complaint in February 2023.
Between 2019 and 2021, Clayton leveraged his accounting and “virtual CFO” firm, Rochart Consulting, as a cover to clean illicit funds from internet frauds for his overseas associates. He formed shell entities to establish commercial bank accounts in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, funneling the scam proceeds through them. Clayton guided his clients on how to arrange incoming funds, craft misleading wire transfer descriptions, and fabricate corporate records to mask the money’s origins and movements…