Cleveland man indicted for money laundering

A Cleveland man was indicted on three counts of money laundering for accepting $20,000 in drug proceeds, said Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Matthew J. King, 44, accepted $20,000 in cash and then wrote two checks totaling $4,000 in early 2014. The funds were provided for the purpose of money laundering that had been represented to King were the proceeds of the distribution of controlled substances, according to the indictment.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Baeppler  following an investigation by the Northern Ohio Law Enforcement Task Force. The NOLETF is a task force comprised of investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cleveland Division of Police, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the police departments of Cleveland Heights, Euclid, Lakewood, the Regional Transit Authority, Westlake and Shaker Heights. The NOLETF is also one of the initial Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area initiatives, which supports and helps coordinate numerous Ohio drug task forces in their efforts to eliminate or reduce drug trafficking in Ohio.

If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the court after a review of the federal sentencing guidelines and factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record (if any), the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.