Nicole M. Argentieri Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General | Official Website
An indictment was recently unsealed in Nashville, Tennessee, charging nine individuals with involvement in a multi-state money laundering organization. The group is accused of laundering millions of dollars obtained from internet fraud, including business email compromise schemes. The arrests were part of a coordinated effort across three jurisdictions.
Court documents reveal that the defendants include Samson A. Omoniyi from Houston; Misha L. Cooper and Robert A. Cooper from Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Carlesha L. Perry and Lauren O. Guidry from Houston; Whitney D. Bardley from Florissant, Missouri; Caira Y. Osby and Edward D. Peebles from Murfreesboro; and Dazai S. Harris also from Murfreesboro.
The indictment alleges that these individuals were part of a long-standing money laundering operation active since around November 2016, operating in Tennessee, Texas, and other areas nationwide. The organization allegedly involved recruiters or "herders" who directed participants known as "money mules" to launder funds acquired through internet fraud targeting businesses and individuals both domestically and internationally. It is claimed that they used sham companies to disguise the origins of the fraudulent proceeds while benefiting members of the conspiracy financially.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri announced the charges alongside Acting U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Jaworski for the Middle District of Tennessee and FBI Criminal Investigative Division's Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough.
If convicted, each defendant could face up to 20 years in prison, with sentencing determined by a federal district court judge based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors.
The investigation is being conducted by the FBI Nashville Field Office, Salt Lake City Field Office, Boise Resident Agency, with support from the FBI’s Forensic Accountant Support Team.
Trial Attorneys Kenneth Kaplan and Jasmin Salehi Fashami from the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section are leading the prosecution along with Assistant U.S. Attorney S. Carran Daughtrey for the Middle District of Tennessee.
It is important to note that an indictment is merely an allegation at this stage, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
