Texas Man Sentenced to Over 2 Years in Federal Prison for Participation in Money Laundering Conspiracy

Louisville, KY – A Texas man, who is a citizen of Ghana and the United Kingdom, was sentenced today after being convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering. 

U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge of Headquarters Operations John T. Perez of the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard of the Homeland Security Investigations Atlanta Field Office made the announcement.

According to court documents, Joshua Roberts, 32, participated in a scheme to conceal the source of proceeds of criminal activity. As part of the scheme, Roberts established a sham company to launder illicit funds from a Business Email Compromise scheme. Business Email Compromise is a sophisticated scam that targets both businesses and individuals who perform legitimate transfer-of-funds requests. The scam is frequently carried out when a subject compromises legitimate business or personal email accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion to conduct unauthorized transfers of funds.

Roberts was sentenced to 2 years and 3 months in federal prison followed by 3 years of supervised release. Roberts was also ordered to pay $831,996.84 in restitution. Roberts’ sentence of imprisonment will run concurrent to a sentence he is serving for related crimes in a case arising out of the Northern District of Georgia. There is no parole in the federal system.

On September 26, 2022, Peggy McDowell Brown, 69, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, was sentenced to 2 years of probation for her role in the conspiracy. Brown was also ordered to pay $831,996.84 in restitution. 

On October 21, 2022, Olajide Samuel Agbaniyaka, 33, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to 3 years and 1 month in federal prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release, for his role in the conspiracy.  Agbaniyaka was also ordered to pay $1,117,000.54 in restitution. 

The case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Homeland Security Investigations.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Corinne Keel prosecuted the case.

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