Deer Park resident sentenced for running unlicensed financial scheme involving $2.3 million check

Editor's Note:
This matter occurred on date indicated, but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.   

HOUSTON – A 66-year-old man has been ordered to federal prison for operating an illegal money transmitting business, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Bobby Charles Lee Sr. pleaded guilty June 30.

U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Hoyt has now ordered Lee to serve 33 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Hoyt imposed strict supervised release conditions, including limits on company and bank account ownership and restrictions on Lee’s access to technology. Lee must also pay restitution to two victims in specific amounts to be determined.

At the hearing, the court heard that Lee continued to move illicit funds while on bond. Prior to imposing the sentence, Judge Hoyt noted Lee’s conduct was among the “most outrageous” he had seen in 37 years on the bench. He told Lee “at your age, you still have not come home to right” and questioned why Lee had not bothered to tell his family about his criminal case.

From 2020 through 2024, Lee operated an unlicensed money-transmitting business that moved funds through multiple personal and business accounts without the required state license or federal registration.

Lee allowed others to deposit and transfer funds into accounts he controlled and accepted negotiable instruments others had mailed to him. Authorities flagged several transactions as suspicious or fraudulent, prompting banks to close multiple accounts linked to the scheme.  

In March 2024, Lee deposited a counterfeit $2.3 million U.S. Treasury check and used the proceeds to enrich himself and his spouse, including purchasing a Cadillac vehicle. Authorities later seized the vehicle and recovered approximately $2.1 million that remained from the fraudulent funds.

Lee was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

IRS Criminal Investigation and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration conducted the investigation with assistance from the FBI and Deer Park Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Bauman and Kimberly Ann Leo prosecuted the case with assistance from Kristine Rollinson of the Asset Recovery Section.