Hirenkumar Patel, the last of six individuals involved in an unlicensed money transmitting operation, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison. The case, announced by Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Christopher G. Raia, FBI Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office, involves the illegal transmission of over $15 million using a "hawala" network.
Patel pled guilty on September 12, 2024, to conspiracy and operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business before U.S. Magistrate Judge Victoria Reznik. U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas handed down his sentence.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated: “The anonymous transmission of money is a linchpin of international criminal activity, whether hacking, drug dealing, sex trafficking, or terrorism.” He emphasized that such networks support international crime and vowed to shut them down with law enforcement partners.
FBI Assistant Director Christopher G. Raia remarked: “These six defendants engaged in an unregulated money transferring scheme responsible for illegally transmitting $15 million in less than a year." He noted the broader economic damage caused by such illicit schemes and affirmed the FBI's commitment to prosecuting those involved.
According to court documents and proceedings, law enforcement discovered a vendor on the dark web offering cryptocurrency-to-cash conversion services as early as April 2021. By February 2023, authorities learned that this vendor used a hawala system to exchange cash for cryptocurrency. Defendants collected cash along the East Coast which was then mailed to customers or converted into rupees for delivery in India.
Patel was involved in 42 deliveries totaling more than $7.7 million out of approximately $15 million transmitted between February and September 2023 without proper licensing.
Jay Clayton praised the work of the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky in this investigation handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Levander and Timothy Ly from White Plains Division.
The other defendants received varying sentences: Rajendrakumar Patel received 27 months; Brijeshkumar Patel got 18 months; Naineshkumar Patel was sentenced to 12 months and one day; Nileshkumar Patel received three years probation; Shaileshkumar Goyani was sentenced to time served.
