Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
A federal grand jury in Boston has indicted Jesse El-Ghoul, 31, of Leominster, on charges related to the alleged theft of over $1.3 million in government funds. The indictment includes one count each of theft of government funds and bank fraud, as well as four counts of money laundering.
Authorities allege that El-Ghoul, who owned Affordable Motor Group in Leominster and owed back taxes for the business, deposited a forged U.S. Treasury tax refund check for $1,344,863 into his company’s bank account on March 29, 2024. The check was reportedly issued to a Canadian company based on its 2021 tax return but had been altered to be payable to Affordable Motor Group.
Following the deposit, El-Ghoul is accused of purchasing several cashier’s checks totaling more than $1 million made out to shell companies and a law firm involved in a third-party real estate transaction in eastern Massachusetts.
If convicted, El-Ghoul faces up to 10 years in prison for theft of government funds and up to 30 years for bank fraud. Each money laundering charge carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years. Fines could reach $250,000 for theft of government funds, $1 million for bank fraud, and up to $500,000 or twice the amount laundered per money laundering charge. Sentencing would be determined by a federal district court judge according to federal guidelines.
“United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; Michael Carpenter, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, OIG; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil, Deputy Chief of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.”
The defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
