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| Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody |
BROWARD COUNTY, Florida – Attorney General Ashley Moody announced criminal charges filed against two men for allegedly operating a cryptocurrency money laundering scheme transferring approximately $8 million to be withdrawn from ATM machines in Colombia.
Attorney General Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution charged Juan Paulo Galeano and Carlos Andrews Cardona Gomez with money laundering and operating as an unlicensed money transmitter.
According to prosecutors, the men created shell digital consulting companies to purchase cryptocurrency and then used multiple financial institutions in Florida to operate a money-service business without a license.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office arrested Galeano, while Cardona is currently a fugitive in Colombia.
“This criminal duo operated a money-service business without a license to transfer approximately $8 million in an elaborate cryptocurrency laundering scheme—creating a flow of millions of dollars’ worth of U.S. currency right into Medellin, Colombia,” Moody said.
According to the investigation, the defendants conducted hundreds of financial transactions through digital asset/cryptocurrency exchange platforms, along with federal wire transfers. The men used shell companies to purchase cryptocurrency.
Galeano claimed to be the officer or director of Canvas Digital Corp, based out of Miramar, Florida, and advertised as a consulting service that focuses on digital services, marketing and photography.
Cardona claimed to be the officer or director of Cabusa Compania Sas Corp, operating directly from Medellin, Colombia.
The men allegedly used multiple cryptocurrency exchanges, including Kraken, Binance and FTX Crypto.
Investigators say that the men claimed to provide digital services; however, there is no evidence of product or services.
The men allegedly used a combination of the digital exchange platforms and multiple financial institutions—including JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank and more—to layer the financial transactions and obscure the source of the funds, investigators say.
The alleged money-service business scheme allowed approximately $8 million in U.S. currency to be withdrawn in Medellin, Colombia.
We are filing charges against a criminal duo who operated a money-service business without a license to transfer approximately $8 million in an elaborate cryptocurrency laundering scheme—creating a flow of millions of dollars’ worth of U.S. currency right into Medellin, Colombia.… pic.twitter.com/IgPnL3jIwf
— AG Ashley Moody (@AGAshleyMoody) May 8, 2024