New York Man Sentenced to Prison for Money Laundering

            WASHINGTON – Julien Richardson, 35, of New York, was sentenced on January 26, 2021, in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to 40 months of imprisonment for conspiring to commit money laundering, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin and James A. Dawson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Criminal Division.  

            From April 2016 through February 2018, Richardson conspired with Akeem Fields to launder money on behalf of others who had stolen from numerous victims. Richardson and Fields created aliases and shell companies, which were then used to open bank accounts. These newly created accounts were used to receive and launder fraud proceeds from a variety of schemes, including elder fraud by impersonating a relative, lottery fraud scams, and business email compromise schemes. When fraud proceeds were deposited into the accounts of Richardson and Fields, they executed an agreed-upon plan on how to distribute the fraudulent proceeds as quickly as possible to evade detection.

            In the course of the conspiracy, the victims lost over $549,000.  For their part in the scheme, Richardson and Fields each received 15% of the proceeds.  They provided the remaining 70% to the individuals perpetrating the underlying fraud schemes.

            Richardson was charged via criminal information in January 2020 and entered a guilty plea before the Honorable Amy Berman Jackson on February 27, 2020.  Fields has also pled guilty in a separate case.

            In addition to sentencing Richardson to 40 months in prison, the Honorable Amy Berman Jackson ordered that Richardson serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution and a forfeiture money judgment.

            In announcing the sentence, Acting U.S. Attorney Sherwin and Special Agent in Charge Dawson commended the work of those from the FBI’s Washington Field Office who investigated the case. They also expressed appreciation to Paralegal Specialist Amanda Rohde. Finally, they commended the work of former Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Misler and Anthony Saler, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Macey.