Dual Iranian/Canadian National Pleads Guilty to International Money Laundering

BOSTON – A dual citizen of Iran and Canada pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to international money laundering.

Omid Mashinchi, 35, pleaded guilty to five counts of international money laundering. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for Nov. 13, 2018. Mashinchi was charged in a sealed indictment in January 2018 and arrested in April 2018, when he flew into the United States; he has been in federal custody since.

On five occasions in 2017, Mashinchi transferred funds from a bank in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to a bank in Boston knowing that the money was derived from unlawful activity. On Jan. 28, Mashinchi transferred $37,794; on July 28 he made two transfers, one for $49,915 and another for $49,445; and on Aug. 3, he made two more transfers, one for $49,930 and another in the amount of $49,645.

The charge of international money laundering provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and up to a $500,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Winkler of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.