Security News > 2020 > March > Two Dozen Arrested for Laundering Funds From BEC, Other Scams
Twenty-four individuals were arrested for laundering funds illegally obtained via business email compromise, romance, and retirement account scams targeting victims across the United States.
The large-scale fraud operation facilitated by the arrested individuals has caused losses of more than $30 million, the Department of Justice has revealed.
The defendants allegedly served as money launderers for individuals worldwide, by receiving and distributing funds obtained through cyber-enabled fraud such as BEC and other types of scams, including those targeting the elderly.
BEC scammers typically employ networks of mules to transfer the illegally obtained funds, often to bank accounts abroad. In this case, the suspects are believed to have laundered over $30 million in fraud proceeds from various types of Internet crimes.
The DoJ also announced that 17 other individuals were charged in two related cases, with various counts of bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering, and conspiracies to commit these offenses.