Criminal Cases

GA Woman Sentenced to Over 11 Years In Prison For International Money Laundering Scheme

GA Woman Sentenced to Over 11 Years In Prison For International Money Laundering Scheme

A Roswell, Georgia-based woman has been sentenced to over 11 years in prison for her part in an international money laundering scheme. 

According to an official release from the IRS, Rachael Maia Winslow will spend 11 years and 3 months behind bars for her role as a member of an international conspiracy to launder money generated via boiler room fraud.

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Credit: Marianne Purdie/Getty Images

U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven also ordered Winslow to surrender $747,608.81 of victims' funds, which authorities seized from two bank accounts she used throughout the conspiracy.

"Boiler room" tactics, for those unfamiliar with the term, involve salespeople applying high-pressure measures to convince investors to purchase securities, including speculative and fraudulent securities, such as in Winslow's case.

Typically, boiler room tactics include "making claims that cannot be easily verified by the investor, demanding immediate payment, or issuing threats for noncompliance."

Winslow and her co-conspirators contacted foreign nationals who were led to believe that they were investing in legitimate shares or stocks in companies like Meta (Facebook), Chesapeake Energy, and Toys'R'Us. In reality, these were illegitimate investments, and the scammers defrauded the victims of over $14 million during Winslow's involvement. She personally saw approximately $4.7 million laundered through her accounts.

In an attempt to conceal the origin of the funds, Winslow created shell companies in multiple states. 

She resided in both Barcelona, Spain and Miami, Florida during her involvement with the scam. 

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Credit: Justin Paget/Getty Images

Brian Payne, special agent in charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division Tampa field office said, "This case illustrates the complex international schemes con artists will design and employ to defraud and enrich themselves from unsuspecting victims."

"IRS-CI and our interagency partners are laser-focused in our commitment to use our technology and financial investigation expertise to find these criminals and bring them to justice, no matter where they may operate," he concluded. 

The IRS, FBI, and other federal agencies have been cracking down on money laundering rings. In one recent case, for instance, an Ohio man was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for a bitcoin theft scheme involving an online money laundering operation. In this situation, the defendant utilized a “mixer” or “tumbler" -- a service that mixes illegal cryptocurrency funds with "good" currency, with the intention of masking the original source. 

What do you think about Winslow's criminal conduct?

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Feature Image Credit: Benjamin Rondel/Getty Images

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Rebekah Barton

Rebekah Barton

Rebekah's search engine optimization career began completely by accident as a college student. Over the course of her career so far, she has "grown up" with the SEO industry, from writing content while juggling classes to managing her own teams of writers and overseeing SEO strategy in subsequent roles. She is excited to bring her passion for high-quality content to CountingWorks, Inc.

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