Business owners charged with money laundering and operating a money transmitting business without a license

MIAMI – On April 4, two business owners were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating a money transmitting business without a license.

As set forth in the criminal complaint, Maryna Petushkova (Maryna), 39, and Oleksii Petushkov (Oleksii) 40, both of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, owned Trident Trade Corp. (Trident) in North Miami, Florida. As alleged in the criminal complaint, Trident was a front for an illegal money transmitting business that exchanged illegally obtained gift cards for cash and some of the cash was allegedly obtained from purported drug proceeds.

From November 2023 through January 2024, Maryna and Oleksii allegedly laundered $250,000 they believed were drug proceeds. The allegations in the criminal complaint state that from July 2023 through Jan. 8, 2024, Maryna and Oleksii, or an associate, redeemed gift cards believed to be stolen or otherwise fraudulently obtained. The complaint further alleges, from 2021 through 2023 companies operated and controlled by Maryna and Oleksii allegedly redeemed a total of approximately $5,000,000 in gift cards and money orders and failed to obtain the required federal or state license to operate as a money transmitting business.

Maryna and Oleksii made their initial appearance in Fort Lauderdale on April 4. A detention hearing is scheduled for April 9 in Fort Lauderdale. Maryna and Oleksii face up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction related to the conspiracy to commit money laundering charge and face up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 for the operating a money transmitting business without a license charge.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri, of the FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

FBI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Schwartz and Jeffrey N. Kaplan are prosecuting it.

A criminal complaint contains mere allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 24-mj-06146.

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