US authorities have sentenced Global Gold Exchange, LLC (GGEX) and its managers, Richard M. Owen, James Warren, and Jeffrey Morrow, for ML, operating an unlicensed money remittance business, mail fraud, and unlawful possession of firearm.
In 2017-18, the defendants used GGEX for unlicensed domestic and international transfer of money without pursuing conventional financial institutions, and without following any rules regarding the route, nature or legality of the transactions. In many cases, they illegally laundered funds from various sources and fraudulently documented the transactions as ‘gold transaction’ when the transaction was actually all in cash. The defendants even asked their clients to mail GGEX parcels carrying heavy materials to mimic the weight of gold, so that they could fraudulently document the nature of the transactions. They would then return the amount to their clients through checks after charging a 10 percent commission.
After the GGEX managers pleaded guilty during 2019-2020, the authorities had sentenced Owen to 24 months in jail for ML and possession of firearm, and Warren and Morrow to 6 and 8 months, respectively, for operating an unlicensed money remittance business. The defendants will forfeit over $2 million in assets linked to ML and the unlicensed money remittance business. They will also provide restitution of over $3,682,063.44 for ML, mail fraud, and operating an unlicensed money remittance business.
Source: US Department of Justice