LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that Martin Mizrahi, 51, of Las Vegas, was convicted of wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, aggravated identity theft, and other offenses for his participation in multiple schemes to defraud banks and credit card companies of almost $8 million and to launder more than $4 million in fraud and illegal narcotics proceeds.
The verdict followed a 12-day trial before U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken. From at least in or about February 2021 through at least in or about June 2021, Mizrahi and his co-defendants participated in multiple schemes to defraud banks and credit card companies and to launder narcotics proceeds in addition to the fraud proceeds received, according to a media release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Beginning in or about February 2021, Mizrahi began accepting bulk cash narcotics proceeds, which he laundered for individuals associated with a Mexican-based cartel by converting the money into Bitcoin and then sending it to anonymous cryptocurrency wallets provided to him by co-conspirators. In addition, he laundered fraud proceeds sent to his company by wire transfer, which he also converted into cryptocurrency before sending it to anonymous cryptocurrency wallets.
Those funds were obtained through a business email compromise scheme in which a New York City-based non-profit organization had more than $3 million stolen from it by hackers, among other things. Between February and June 2021, Mizrahi laundered a total of more than $4 million in fraud and narcotics proceeds.
In addition, between April and June 2021, Mizrahi participated in a credit card fraud scheme in which he ran nearly $8 million in fraudulent credit card charges through his company. Those charges were run on multiple credit cards issued in the names of third parties, some of which had been stolen, and without any legitimate work being done or services being provided. As part of the scheme, he prepared false invoices which he sent to banks and credit card companies to justify the charges.
Mizrahi was convicted of the following:
- Conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison;
- Bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison;
- Conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison;
- Money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison;
- Aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison to run consecutively to any other prison terms imposed;
- Conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison
The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
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