An Orlando man was sentenced for opening and operating bank accounts in a fraud scheme. 41-year-old Joseph Elegele, Jr., of Orlando, was sentenced to three years and 10 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering. As part of his sentence, the court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $801,559.33, the proceeds of his criminal conduct.
According to court documents, between August 2017 and June 2023, Elegele was part of an international fraud scheme that laundered funds that had been fraudulently obtained from various businesses throughout the United States and in the Bahamas. Elegele’s role in the scheme was to establish business bank accounts in the Middle District of Florida through which large money transfers could be routed.
Other members of the conspiracy, who were located overseas, used online communications and business email compromises to scam the businesses into making fraudulent transfers to accounts controlled by Elegele, who then immediately made large cash withdrawals or cashier check purchases to launder and dissipate the fraud proceeds…