May 20, 2015

Slidell Man Sentenced to 30 Months for Money Laundering

U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that RICHARD ZANCO, age 44, of Slidell, was sentenced today after previously pleading guilty to money laundering.

U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan sentenced ZANCO to thirty months’ imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release.

According to court documents, in about May 2012, ZANCO learned that someone had opened a brokerage account in his name and used that account to acquire collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs), a type of bond, by fraudulent means. Even though he knew that the CMOs did not belong to him, ZANCO gained control of the accounts and arranged for the interest proceeds of the CMOs to be diverted to other financial accounts under his control. Between March 11, 2013, and September 19, 2013, ZANCO illegally used the funds, in the amount of approximately $343,998.82, to engage in a variety of financial transactions, including the purchase of multiple automobiles and one or more boats.

U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg was in charge of the prosecution.