SANTA ANA, California – An Orange County lady has been charged in a six-count federal grand jury indictment alleging she laundered cash immediately despatched from fraud victims who have been tricked into sending the funds to monetary accounts she managed slightly than to the victims’ supposed recipients, the Justice Division introduced at the moment.
Serena Lieu, 55, of Westminster, is charged with three counts of cash laundering and three counts of participating in financial transactions in property derived from specified illegal exercise. A federal grand jury returned the indictment on Tuesday.
Lieu was arrested with out incident on Wednesday morning. She pleaded not responsible to the costs at her arraignment on Wednesday afternoon in United States District Courtroom in Santa Ana and an April 11 trial date was scheduled on this matter. She was launched from custody on $50,000 bond.
In line with court docket paperwork, in 2019, legislation enforcement discovered {that a} Lieu-controlled checking account obtained a wire switch of $103,350 from a business email compromise (BEC) sufferer within the Dallas space. BEC is a rip-off that targets corporations and people who carry out professional transfer-of-funds requests. Cybercriminals utilizing social engineering or malware impersonate one of many individuals concerned in these cash transfers to make the sufferer ship the cash to a criminal-controlled checking account. As soon as the fraud is detected, it ceaselessly is simply too late to get the cash again because the funds have been rapidly moved to different financial institution accounts or used to purchase cryptocurrency.
Throughout a Could 2019 interview, FBI brokers suggested Lieu – who has opened 11 financial institution accounts at seven separate monetary establishments since 2017 – that she was shifting fraud proceeds out and in of her numerous financial institution accounts. FBI brokers then gave her a “cash mule” warning letter, which she signed. A money mule is somebody who transfers or strikes illegally acquired cash on behalf of another person.
Regardless of the warning, Lieu allegedly continued trafficking fraud proceeds. Between July 2019 and April 2021, Lieu allegedly obtained greater than $1.8 million into numerous financial institution accounts. These funds got here immediately from fraud victims who have been deceived into sending the funds to Lieu-controlled financial institution accounts, slightly than to the victims’ supposed recipients, court docket paperwork state. After receiving this cash, Lieu allegedly rapidly withdrew or transferred it to numerous people or entities, together with by changing the funds into cryptocurrency.
The indictment particularly alleges that Lieu transferred greater than $560,000 from financial institution accounts she managed to accounts at totally different banks and to Coinbase, a cryptocurrency change platform, from July 2020 to February 2021.
An indictment incorporates allegations {that a} defendant has dedicated a criminal offense. Each defendant is presumed harmless till and until confirmed responsible past an affordable doubt.
If convicted on all counts, Lieu would face a statutory most sentence of 20 years in federal jail for every cash laundering depend and as much as 10 years in federal jail for every unlawful financial transactions depend.
The FBI and america Division of Well being and Human Companies Workplace of Inspector Common investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Carolyn S. Small of the Main Frauds Part and David C. Lachman of the Common Crimes Part are prosecuting this case.
