Money Mule Sentenced for Laundering $2,886,578

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Concord man was sentenced yesterday to 60 months in prison, 3 years’ supervised release, $10,822 restitution, and $100,000 forfeiture for one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of aggravated identity theft.  On April 11, 2023, Derrick Donahue Davis pled guilty to the charges pursuant to a plea agreement.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Davis, 51, came to the attention of law enforcement when one of his bank accounts received a $120,000 wire that was sent to his account by a victim of a scam who was acting under the belief the funds were being used towards closing on a home purchase.  Davis withdrew that money immediately and transferred it to a number of other individuals and the victim lost the home and thousands of dollars.  Investigation ultimately revealed that Davis laundered over two and a half million dollars over three years for an individual he had met online and whom he believed was a female but was actually a Nigerian male engaged in numerous scams.  In addition, Davis received 43 debit cards in other people’s names and sent images of those cards to the Nigerian.  Davis continued to launder the money even after explicitly being informed by law enforcement that the money he was moving was from criminal activity.

Michael F. Easley, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. FBI investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad DeVoe prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-CR-141.