A Florida resident has been sentenced to time served, followed by three years of supervised release, for his involvement in a money laundering conspiracy that funneled fraudulently obtained funds through Pennsylvania, according to Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti.
Senior United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer sentenced Charles Wilson Stout, 66, of Ocala, Florida, who had already served six months in jail for the crime.
According to evidence produced in court, Stout participated in a money laundering plan between April and June 2022. Prosecutors alleged that the plan includes a corporate email breach aimed at a university in Washington, D.C. The university was duped into transferring over $603,000 from a bank account in the Western District of Pennsylvania to one controlled by Stout.
To conceal the source of the stolen monies, Stout and co-defendant David Kakra Mensah set up a shell company and transferred payments to Mensah’s bitcoin account. Prosecutors also said Mensah was involved in a separate romance fraud scam in which cash were transferred to specific victims in Pennsylvania, Oregon, and other areas.
Mensah had previously pled guilty and was sentenced to 24 months in prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mark V. Gurzo and Kelly M. Locher.
According to Rivetti, the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation that led to Stout’s conviction.
