A Florida resident, Charles Wilson Stout, has been sentenced to time served followed by three years of supervised release for his involvement in a money laundering conspiracy. The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti.
Senior United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer handed down the sentence to Stout, 66, who had already served approximately six months in prison for his role in the crime.
Court documents revealed that Stout participated in a money laundering scheme from April 2022 to June 2022. A university based in Washington, D.C., fell victim to a business email compromise, resulting in over $603,000 being fraudulently transferred from a bank account in the Western District of Pennsylvania into an account owned by Stout.
To conceal the origins of these funds, Stout and co-defendant David Kakra Mensah established a shell company and moved portions of the illicit proceeds into a cryptocurrency account held by Mensah. Mensah also engaged in a romance fraud scheme involving victims from Pennsylvania, Oregon, and other locations. He pleaded guilty earlier and received a 24-month prison sentence.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mark V. Gurzo and Kelly M. Locher on behalf of the government.
Acting United States Attorney Rivetti praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their work leading to Stout's successful prosecution.