A man from Georgia was sentenced to a 10-year prison term on Tuesday for laundering over $4.5 million obtained through various fraudulent schemes, including business email compromise (BEC), defrauding a health care benefit program, and participating in romance fraud, officials stated.
According to court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Malachi Mullings, 31, of Sandy Springs, opened 20 bank accounts in the name of a sham company, The Mullings Group LLC.
Between 2019 and July 2021, court documents indicate that Mullings employed various accounts to launder millions of dollars derived from business email compromise (BEC) schemes.
These schemes targeted a health care benefit program, private companies, and numerous individuals, including several elderly victims, through romance fraud.
Alongside his co-conspirators, Mullings conducted financial transactions intended to obscure the origins of the fraudulently obtained proceeds. He also used part of these funds to acquire luxury items, including high-end cars and jewelry.
In one instance, Mullings laundered $310,000 that had been fraudulently diverted from a state Medicaid program and intended as reimbursement for a hospital.
In another instance, Mullings obtained $260,000 from a romance scam, which Mullings used to purchase a Ferrari, according to court records.
Mullings pleaded guilty in January 2023 to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and seven counts of various money laundering offenses.
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, IRS-Criminal Investigations, and the FBI investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Gary Winters and Chris Wenger of the National Rapid Response Strike Force of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Connors for the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted the case.