Greenbelt, Maryland – A member of the Maryland National Guard acknowledged his involvement in a money laundering scheme in federal court. This conspiracy laundered funds from at least 33 different victims.
Alagborenepakake Opuiyo, 32, pled guilty to a superseding information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Special Agent in Charge Allison Russo, Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Mid-Atlantic Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Daniel Wierzbicki, FBI Washington Field Office Counterintelligence and Cyber Division; Special Agent in Charge Jason Scalzo, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of Inspector General Electronic Crimes Unit (FDIC-OIG); Special Agent in Charge Brian Tucker, Federal Reserve Board Office of Inspector General (FRB-OIG); and Special Agent in Charge Eric Weindorf, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Washington, DC.
According to his plea agreement, from May 22, 2019, through November 28, 2022, Opuiyo conspired to launder funds which were stolen through a variety of fraudulent means, including romance fraud and business email compromise schemes. Opuiyo and his co-conspirators, including some who resided in Maryland, opened bank accounts that served as drop accounts. These accounts were opened or controlled as part of the scheme to receive money from the fraud victims.
After receiving the funds in the drop accounts, Opuiyo and his co-conspirators transferred the money to other accounts that either they or their co-conspirators controlled. Additionally, Opuiyo and his co-conspirators directly withdrew money in cash.
As a part of the scheme, romance-fraud victims believed they were communicating with individuals on online dating websites. The victims wired thousands of dollars to bank accounts that Opuiyo and his co-conspirators controlled.
Opuiyo and his co-conspirators used these bank accounts to initiate account transfers, such as withdrawing cash, obtaining cashier’s checks, and writing checks to other individuals and entities to hide the true ownership and source of the assets. As detailed in the plea agreement, the intended loss totaled $2,951,930.36. The actual loss resulting from these transactions was at least $2,270,668.40. Additionally, the amount of laundered funds that went into bank accounts that Opuiyo controlled was $244,614.35.
According to the plea agreement, Opuiyo is required to pay a money judgment of at least $244,614.35, and restitution in the full amount of the victims’ losses, which the parties agree is at least $2,270,668.40.
Opuiyo is facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for the money laundering conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman scheduled sentencing for Wednesday, January 20, 2027, at 2 p.m.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI, FDIC-OIG, FRB, DCIS, and HSI for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Brooke Oki who is prosecuting the federal case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.
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