U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York announced that a jury found MUSTAPHA RAJI guilty of participating in a $1.7 million business email compromise and money laundering scheme against a Manhattan hedge fund. RAJI was convicted of four counts of conspiracy to wire fraud, wire fraud, receipt of stolen goods and conspiracy to launder money. RAJI was convicted following a jury trial by U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman, which lasted about a week. RAJI was previously arrested on December 20, 2019.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Email scams targeting businesses in the region will not be tolerated. Together with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to aggressively prosecute online scammers abroad and the U.S. money launderers who work with them. to protect American businesses.”
As reflected in the indictment, public documents, and evidence presented at the trial:
RAJI is involved in an international fraud ring that conducts phishing and other email scams. One of these campaigns involved the July 2018 breach of the business email account of a hedge fund founder in New York. This compromise resulted in the fraudulent transfer of $1.7 million in wire transfers from the hedge fund to corporate bank accounts used to facilitate the scheme. RAJI, the registered officer of the company receiving the stolen funds, forged documents to cover up the fraudulent transfers of funds from hedge funds and instructed co-conspirators to launder the stolen funds to other co-conspirators at home and abroad. RAJI was reduced for participating in the scheme $50,000.
* * *
RAJI, 52, of Hollywood, Florida, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years; one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years; and one count of receiving stolen money, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. years in prison; and one count of money laundering conspiracy, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
RAJI is scheduled for sentencing before Judge Furman on January 11, 2023 at 3:15 pm
The maximum possible sentence is set by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the accused will be determined by a judge.
gentlemen. Williams praised the FBI’s excellent investigation work.
The case is being handled by the office’s Complex Fraud and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Catherine Ghosh, Jilan Kamal, Dina McLeod and Robert B. Sobelman lead the prosecution.