Convicted Money Launderer Indicted for Fraudulent Scheme

BOSTON – A Hingham man who was convicted earlier this year of money laundering has been indicted by a federal grand jury on new charges of wire fraud, unlawful monetary transactions and money laundering conspiracy.

Yannick A. Minang, 26, was arrested on July 1, 2019, and charged by criminal complaint with one count of international money laundering conspiracy. Today, Minang was indicted on five counts of wire fraud, one count of unlawful monetary transactions and one count of money laundering conspiracy.

Earlier this year, Minang pleaded guilty to a five-count indictment for his role in a similar business email compromise (BEC) scheme in 2017.  Minang is scheduled to be sentenced on those charges on Sept. 24, 2019, before U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor.

As alleged in today’s indictment, Minang conspired with others to open numerous bank accounts in Massachusetts in the name of sham companies, as part of an apparent BEC scheme, which is a sophisticated scam often targeting businesses involved in wire transfer payments. The fraud is carried out by compromising and/or “spoofing” legitimate business email accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques to cause employees of the victim company (or other individuals involved in legitimate business transactions) to transfer funds to accounts controlled by the scammers.

Through the use of fraudulent invoices and spoofed email accounts, Minang allegedly conspired to trick the victims of the scheme into wiring hundreds of thousands of dollars to bank accounts under his control. Minang and his co-conspirators then transferred funds from the accounts to others located overseas.

The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of the greater of either $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. The charge of unlawful monetary transactions provides for a sentence of up to10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of the greater of either $250,000 or twice the value of the criminally derived property. The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000 or twice the amount involved in the transaction, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys William B. Brady, of Lelling’s Criminal Division, and Jordi de Llano, Deputy Chief of Lelling’s Securities & Financial Fraud Unit, are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.