BOSTON – A Texas man and woman were indicted today by a federal grand jury for allegedly operating an unlicensed money transmitting business to launder the proceeds of online investment fraud and romance fraud schemes.
Charles Ochi, 27, of Grand Prairie, Texas, and Vanessa Okocha, 24, of Houston, Texas were indicted on one count each of money laundering conspiracy, one count of conspiracy to conduct an unlicensed money transmitting business and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Ochi will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date. Okocha remains at large.
According to the charging documents, beginning in or around 2016, Ochi and Okocha conspired with others to launder and transmit proceeds of Ponzi-style investment fraud schemes based in Nigeria and of romance scams. Specifically, the investment fraud schemes allegedly purported to offer trading and Bitcoin investing services when, in fact, investor funds were stolen and victims’ investments were later used to pay purported returns to earlier investors. The romance fraud schemes deceived online victims into sending money to persons with whom they believed they had a romantic relationship. It is alleged that Ochi and Okocha laundered the fraud proceeds as part of aa network of co-conspirators in the United States, including the owners of at least two used car exporting companies. Ochi and Okocha, along with their co-conspirators, did not hold money transmitting licenses in their…
