Roseville Man Sentenced to Three Years and Ten months in Prison for Money Laundering Conspiracy

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Alex Altoh, 64, of Roseville, was sentenced Tuesday to three years and ten months in prison for money laundering conspiracy, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.  Altoh was also ordered to pay  $1,478,068.99 in restitution.

According to court documents, between January 2021 and November 2021, Altoh and his co-defendant Oumar Sidibe, 31, were involved in a conspiracy to launder the proceeds from two large business email compromise schemes, in which two corporate victims were tricked into making payments to bank accounts controlled by Altoh and another person, rather than to the intended beneficiaries of the payments.  Altoh, Sidibe, and others then quickly withdrew a large portion of the funds by way of check deposits, which effectively transferred the funds, concealed their unlawful nature, and prevented them from being clawed back. 

For instance, on October 26, 2021, an employee of a victim company was tricked into wiring approximately $3.5 million to Altoh’s account at Wells Fargo. That same day, in a span of less than two hours, Altoh withdrew money from the Wells Fargo account by depositing five checks in five separate transactions at multiple bank branches in the Sacramento area.  One transaction included a check for $248,000 that Altoh wrote to himself and deposited into his own Chase bank account.  In that one day, Altoh successfully withdrew approximately $1.1 million of the funds out of his Wells Fargo account, which was never recovered. Law enforcement traced Altoh and Sidibe to almost $3.9 million in laundered fraud proceeds. 

Sidibe is yet to be apprehended. The charges against Sibide are only allegations; he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Denise N. Yasinow and Matthew Thuesen prosecuted the case.