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Money Laundering at the Heart of Feeding Our Future Case
The transfer of Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh from Somalia to Minnesota, nearly four years after he fled the United States, is worth more than a passing read for anyone responsible for detecting illicit money flows. Eidleh, described by prosecutors as second only to central figure Aimee Bock, faces 31 charges, and money laundering sits at the centre of them, alongside conspiracy to commit money laundering, wire fraud, federal programmes bribery and the related conspiracy counts. T

OpusDatum
Jul 224 min read


Scoular's $10m FCPA Settlement Signals Cartel-Linked Bribery Risk
The Scoular Company (Scoular), an agricultural supply chain business based in Omaha, Nebraska, has agreed to pay more than $10 million to resolve a US Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into a years-long scheme in which it relied on the bribery of Mexican officials to move goods across the US-Mexico border. Scoular entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) alongside a criminal information filed in the Western District of Texas, charging the company

OpusDatum
Jul 172 min read


TD Bank Insiders Jailed for Enabling Money Laundering & Fraud
Two former employees of TD Bank, N.A. have been sentenced to prison in the US for their roles in enabling money laundering and fraud from within the institution, in cases prosecuted by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The outcomes are a pointed reminder that the control environment is only ever as strong as the people operating it. Wilfredo Aquino, an assistant store manager, received 46 months after admitting he conspired to launder monetary instruments. Between 2019 and Feb

OpusDatum
Jul 152 min read


US Conviction Exposes Iran Sanctions Evasion Through European Front Companies
A federal jury in Boston has convicted Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, a 43-year-old dual US-Iranian national from Natick, Massachusetts, of conspiring to export sophisticated American microelectronics to Iran in breach of US sanctions. Following a 14-day trial, Sadeghi was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR), together with two substantive counts under

OpusDatum
Jul 143 min read


Cryptocurrency Transfers Expose Terrorist Financing Red Flags for Compliance Teams
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged Catherine Beth Washburn, 37, of Irondequoit, New York, with attempting to provide material support to the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. According to the criminal complaint, Washburn made approximately 80 separate transfers of cryptocurrency totalling around 30,116 USDC (roughly $30,116

OpusDatum
Jun 302 min read


Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Cartel Money Laundering & Terrorism Support
A Honduras-based Chinese national has pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, to laundering the proceeds of drug trafficking, and to providing material support to a designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO), the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). According to court documents, Wenshen Xu, 52, operated a transportation network across Latin America — encompassing airstrips, airports, armoured cars,

OpusDatum
Jun 302 min read


US Justice Department Seizes Huione Group Money Laundering Infrastructure
The US Justice Department has announced the seizure of a cloud computing account used by subsidiaries of the Huione Group, a Cambodia-based conglomerate alleged to have provided laundering services for the proceeds of cryptocurrency investment fraud, cyber scams, and other criminal activity. The account hosted the backend infrastructure supporting these subsidiaries, enabling illicit cryptocurrency proceeds to be transferred, moved, and concealed before conversion into the le

OpusDatum
Jun 232 min read


Defense Contractor Settles Cybersecurity False Claims Allegations for $507,144
LOGZONE Inc, a Huntsville, Alabama-based defence contractor, has agreed to pay $507,144 to resolve liability under the False Claims Act (FCA) arising from its failure to meet cybersecurity requirements on contracts with the Department of the Navy. The settlement concerns allegations that LOGZONE knowingly submitted false or fraudulent claims for payment on two Navy contracts despite not complying with the contracts' cybersecurity obligations. Between May 2021 and March 2025,

OpusDatum
Jun 182 min read


San Diego Man Charged with Sanctions Evasion & Funnelling Charity Funds to Hamas
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has unsealed a five-count complaint against Reda Mazen Rida Sabassi, 38, of San Diego, charging him with terrorism, sanctions evasion, wire fraud, money laundering and false statement offences linked to the diversion of purportedly charitable donations to Hamas. Sabassi was arrested in San Diego and presented before a US magistrate judge in the Southern District of California. According to the complaint, Sabassi solicited donations from in or a

OpusDatum
Jun 172 min read


Former Virgin Islands Officials Sentenced for Bribery & Money Laundering
Two former senior officials in the US Virgin Islands have been sentenced for their roles in a procurement fraud, bribery, and money laundering scheme involving federal pandemic relief funds. Ray Martinez, former Commissioner of the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD), was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Jenifer O'Neal, former Director of the Virgin Islands Office of Management and Budget (OMB), received a seven-year custodial

OpusDatum
Jun 121 min read


Ghost Fleet Tanker Master Pleads Guilty to Evading Coast Guard
The guilty plea of Avtandil Kalandadze offers a useful case study in how dark fleet sanctions evasion converges with terrorist financing exposure, deceptive shipping practices and active obstruction of enforcement. Kalandadze, 47, a Georgian national and former master of the tanker Bella 1, has pleaded guilty in the US District Court for the District of Columbia to failing to heave to a US Coast Guard cutter. The plea follows a multi-week pursuit from the Caribbean Sea across

OpusDatum
Jun 122 min read


Texas Couple Jailed Over $30m Pandemic Pyramid Fraud Scheme
A Texas couple who defrauded more than 10,000 people of over $30m through a fraudulent chain-referral pyramid scheme have each been sentenced to 40 years in prison, following their conviction on conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering charges in January 2026. LaShonda Moore, 38, and Marlon Moore, 39, of Frisco, Texas, co-founded and operated "Blessings in No Time" (BINT), which they marketed through weekly live-streamed broadcasts to thousands of participants across the

OpusDatum
Jun 102 min read
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