A Lexington man was federally charged for money laundering crimes after he was found by the U.S. Secret Service to be a posing as luxury car salesman and scamming high-end dealerships.
Hussein Qasim, 34, of Lexington, faces two federal charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and transactional money laundering, according to a criminal complaint filed Feb. 7 in the Eastern District of Kentucky federal court.
In an affidavit filed by Roger Kimmel, a special agent with the Secret Service in Lexington, the investigation identified Qasim as part of a network that engages in a “complex scheme” that centers around the false sales of expensive, luxury vehicles, according to federal court documents.
The alleged conspiracy involved those reaching out over the phone or online to luxury car dealerships in the country who would speak with sales associates or managers under an alias. However, they never owned or were in the possession of the vehicles they were trying to sell.
Qasim would provide pictures and titles of the vehicles, as well as a dealership license of the “employer,” court documents state.