Grand Jury Returns Indictments

MADISON, WIS. - A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin, sitting in Madison, returned the following indictments today.  You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Two Florida Residents Charged with Money Laundering Conspiracy

Denise Webley, 40, Tamarac, Florida, and Julio Madruga Rosa, 51, Gulf Stream, Florida are charged with participating in a money laundering conspiracy.  The indictment alleges that they conspired with others to conduct financial transactions involving the proceeds of an unlawful activity, specifically wire fraud.  The indictment alleges that the defendants maintained bank accounts designed to collect and funnel cash proceeds from unlawful activities, and that Webley held Account A and Madruga Rosa held Account B.  The indictment further alleges that Webley received a weekly payment for maintaining Account A, and Madruga Rosa received a percentage of the funds laundered through Account B as payment.

The indictment alleges that in November and December 2020, unknown fraud perpetrators used false pretenses to convince employees of businesses in the Western District of Wisconsin and elsewhere, to collect and deliver the businesses’ cash-on-hand to couriers who the fraud perpetrators misrepresented were authorized by the business to receive the funds.  The indictment alleges that as part of the conspiracy, in December 2020 in Rib Mountain, Wisconsin, two couriers collected $242,980 in currency from an employee of a retail store.  The indictment further alleges that over $233,000 of the fraud proceeds were deposited into Account A, almost immediately were electronically transferred into Account B, and then subsequently transferred out of the United States.

The money laundering charges against Webley and Madruga Rosa are the result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The investigation of the fraud scheme was conducted by these two agencies and the Merrill, Wausau, Everest Metropolitan, Stevens Point, and West Allis Police Departments, the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Marathon County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith P. Duchemin is handling this case.