U.S. Attorney Damian Williams | U.S. Department of Justice
Edward Y. Kim, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has announced the sentencing of Shukhratjon Mirsaidov and Shukhrat Abdullaev in a money laundering conspiracy case. Mirsaidov received a sentence of one year and a day, while Abdullaev was sentenced to 24 months in prison. Both were involved in a scheme that operated from June 2019 to February 2022, utilizing the U.S. bank account of an international airline based at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The sentences were imposed by U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska following guilty pleas from both defendants for conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim stated: "For years Shukhratjon Mirsaidov and Shukrat Abdullaev engaged in a scheme to launder healthcare fraud proceeds through the accounts of an international airline in order to conceal the illicit nature of these funds."
The indictment revealed that Mirsaidov and Abdullaev used the Airline-1 Bank Account to operate a check-cashing scheme involving hundreds of thousands of dollars obtained through healthcare fraud. The fraudulent activity included depositing checks drawn from shell companies' accounts into the airline's bank account, with these companies falsely claiming payments for medical services not provided.
Abdullaev obtained checks from shell companies linked to healthcare fraud perpetrators and worked with Mirsaidov to convert cash from airline ticket sales into illegal funds through check cashing.
In addition to laundering healthcare fraud proceeds, they also conducted sting transactions facilitated by law enforcement using a confidential source known as CS-1. During these operations between June 2021 and February 2022, CS-1 provided checks totaling $210,000 from a fictitious company account, which were cashed or deposited by Mirsaidov and Abdullaev.
Both men have been ordered to pay forfeitures—Mirsaidov $674,171 and Abdullaev $704,171—and will face additional penalties including supervised release for Abdullaev.
Mr. Kim commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation's efforts on this case managed by the Office’s Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cecilia Vogel, Christopher Brumwell, and Vladislav Vainberg leading prosecution efforts.
