TRENTON, N.J. - An Ocean County, New Jersey, man today admitted owning and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Yisroel Malamud, 53, of Lakewood, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with running an unlicensed money transmitting business.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Between January 2010 and May 2013, Malamud maintained a retail storefront in Lakewood under the name “Beepers Plus." Malamud received money from members of the public, deposited the funds into bank accounts that he maintained in the name of different entities, and then transmitted the money from those bank accounts to third-parties within the United States in accordance with the customers’ instructions, charging the customers a fee for this service.
New Jersey law provides that the operation of an unlicensed money transmission business is punishable as a felony. Federal law requires anyone conducting such a business to register the business with the Secretary of the Treasury. Malamud did not possess and failed to obtain a money transmitting license, nor did he register with the Secretary of the Treasury.
The charge to which Malamud pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for June 1, 2017.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, Red Bank Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Deputy Chief, Criminal Division Eric W. Moran of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.
Defense Counsel: Peter W. Till Esq., Springfield, New Jersey, and Stacy Ann Biancamano Esq., Chatham, New Jersey
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
