This article contains AI-assisted content.

AI-generated imagePhoto byThe Bullet Point

Tucson, Arizona – Whitney Adams, 27, of Hagerstown, Maryland, has been sentenced to 48 months in prison and ordered to pay over $1 million in restitution to 17 victims after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering for her part in a fraudulent online scheme. Adams' co-conspirator also pleaded guilty to the same charge and is scheduled for sentencing on January 18, 2024.

Key Points

• Between January 2021 and April 2022, Adams was involved in laundering money for scammers who deceived victims through various online frauds.
• The scammers lured victims by creating false narratives, often posing as romantic partners in need of money to access supposed inheritances or gold bars.
• Victims' funds were directed into bank accounts controlled by Adams and her co-conspirator.
• Upon receiving the fraudulent funds, Adams and her co-conspirator retained a fee before transferring the remainder to Ghana using trade-based money laundering and other methods.
• Adams and her co-conspirator established fake businesses and opened business bank accounts to conceal the origins of the funds.
• The FBI traced a total of $4,437,604, sent by 106 victims, through the bank accounts managed by Adams and her co-conspirator.
• One victim from Arizona lost nearly $5 million, with over $1 million transferred to Adams' and her co-conspirator's accounts, and the rest sent to various other individuals.