A three-month campaign to destroy networks used by international criminals to receive fraud proceeds had been successful.
The success was announced by the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigations, U.S. Postal Service Inspection Service and other federal law enforcement organizations, according to a May 22 news release.
“Law enforcement is committed to reducing fraud using every tool at our disposal. Our efforts to disrupt networks used to transfer fraud proceeds, to educate the public about elder fraud and to prosecute those involved in these schemes have stymied fraudsters,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a news release. “This initiative demonstrates what can be achieved through focused efforts and vigorous enforcement.”
“Money mules” reportedly provide services to fraudsters by receiving money from fraud victims and sending the proceeds to the perpetrators, many of whom are headquartered overseas, the release said. This behavior has been the subject of numerous criminal enforcement operations.
Some people were aware they were aiding fraud, while others may have interacted with fraudsters at first as victims and not realized their actions helped to advance illegal behavior, the release reported.
Law enforcement has taken more than 4,000 actions against people who have supported various fraud schemes during the last three months, according to the release. These scams included both consumer-targeted schemes, including lottery fraud and romance fraud, as well as business- or pandemic fund-targeted schemes.
The tens of thousands of steps taken by law enforcement, including warning letters, civil lawsuits and criminal prosecutions, were intended to punish individuals who intentionally helped fraudsters and to inform those who may have been unknowingly aiding fraudsters that their acts helped to perpetuate criminality, the release said. These steps are meant to discourage international fraudsters from using Americans as middlemen in their scams, helping to lessen the damage of international fraud operations.
This was the fifth law enforcement campaign in the U.S. to interfere with these money-transmitting networks, according to the release. More than 400 law enforcement actions were taken during the first campaign.
Since then, more than 12,000 actions have been taken by all agencies, the release said. According to investigations, blocking money-transmitting networks has made it more difficult for fraudsters to receive money, which has decreased the number of people who fall victim to fraud.
These campaigns are a part of an international initiative to combat money-transmitting networks that are connected to criminal activity, the release reported.
