A New York man convicted of laundering nearly $1 million stolen from elderly victims in a phishing network was sentenced in Arizona to 121 months in prison, federal prosecutors said.
Ivan Wilbur Seales, 58, a New York resident and citizen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, was also ordered to pay approximately $855,000 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona.
Laundering through multiple channels
Prosecutors said Seales retained a share of the stolen funds and laundered the remainder through shell companies, cryptocurrency transfers, cash withdrawals and offshore accounts.
How victims were targeted
The scheme used fake pop-ups and emails impersonating banks, Apple, Microsoft, Geek Squad, PayPal and an antivirus firm, according to prosecutors. Victims were led to believe they owed money or had received erroneous payments.
They were then instructed to send their own money to the scammers under the false claim that they were returning over-refunded amounts, prosecutors said.
Victims were also told their bank accounts had been hacked or compromised. At least one victim was told his account was linked to child pornography, according to the account. The fraudsters directed victims to transfer money to various locations to protect their accounts or to catch the scammers.
Investigation
The United States Postal Inspection Service and New York State Police led the investigation. The case is numbered 24-CR-0419-TUC-SHR.
