A Maryland woman received a federal prison term for her role in a multimillion-dollar money laundering scheme.
Fatoumata Boiro, 32, of Largo, was sentenced by Judge Matthew J. Maddox to two years in prison and two years of supervised release for conspiring to engage in a major, multi-member money laundering scheme. Judge Maddox also sentenced Boiro to pay $6,838,558.31 in reparations. Boiro, who pleaded guilty to participating in the money laundering conspiracy, stated that her direct participation resulted in at least $3 million in money laundering.
Kelly O. Hayes, US Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence alongside Special Agent in Charge Akil Baldwin, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Kareem A. Carter, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) – Washington, D.C. Field Office; and Acting Special Agent in Charge George Golliday, Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General (EPA-OIG). This case is part of the Trump administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, which also includes the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF).
According to court filings, from 2021 to February 2024, Boiro collaborated with many individuals to launder the proceeds of a large-scale wire fraud. Throughout the conspiracy, the co-conspirators engaged in a variety of financial transactions to disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the wire-fraud proceeds.
The victims included government institutions, organisations, and businesses such as an environmental trust, urban redevelopment programme, medical centre, transportation and logistics company, school system, college, and county government, among others.
Boiro and her co-conspirators collaborated to form limited liability corporations to function as shell entities, open bank accounts in the names of shell entities, and receive and launder fraud proceeds.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland already charged 14 people in two separate cases in connection with the money laundering conspiracy; 13 have already pleaded guilty. Faizou Gnora, 28, a former Alexandria, Virginia resident, is still at large. The Office also charged other co-conspirators in separate cases.
The District Court has previously sentenced the following:
- Yahya Sowe, 42, of College Park, to 114 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, restitution of $13,050,827.03, and forfeiture of $1 million;
- Bright Boateng, 45, of Bladensburg, Maryland, to 108 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, restitution of $1,247,950, and a forfeiture of $431,750;
- Victor Killen, 33, of Hyattsville, Maryland, to 63 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, restitution of $7,070,656.46, and a $3-million forfeiture order;
- Gedeon Agbeyome, 31, of Montgomery County, Maryland, to 72 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, along with restitution of $2,938,424.65, and a $2.8 million preliminary order of forfeiture;
- Lawrence Ogunsanwo, 33, to 40 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and restitution of $5,648,816.23;
- Lakeisha Parker, 33, of Baltimore, to 36 months in federal prison, followed by three years supervised release, and restitution of $8,306,930.95;
- Martin Ogisi, 37, of Severn, Maryland, to 33 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, restitution of $11,077,044.17; and a $500,000 forfeiture order;
- Kevin Colon, 34, of Curtis Bay, Maryland, to 27 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, restitution of $2,515,159.63, and a $214,518.42 forfeiture order;
- Areal Harris, 27, of Hanover, Maryland, to 24 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and restitution of $3,159,482.83;
- Emily Gil Arias, 29, of Silver Spring, Maryland to 24 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and restitution of 2,102,919.27;
- Lorena Perez Herrera, 29, of Washington, DC, to 24 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and restitution of $1,473,125.58; and
- Blondel Ndjouandjouaka, 31, of Silver Spring, Maryland, to 24 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, restitution of $733,941.48, and a $757,562.63 forfeiture order.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the formation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is dedicated to investigating and punishing those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s efforts to combat fraud complement President Trump’s Task Force to Eradicate Fraud, a whole-of-government initiative led by Vice President J.D. Vance to eradicate fraud, waste, and abuse in federal benefit programmes.
This prosecution is also part of the HSTF initiative outlined in Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a government-wide effort to combat criminal cartels, international gangs, transnational criminal organisations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and overseas. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full resources of US law enforcement to identify, investigate, and prosecute the full range of crimes perpetrated by terrorist organisations, which have long fostered violence and instability within our borders. The HSTF maintains a specific emphasis on investigating and punishing those involved in child trafficking and other child-related offences. The HSTF also uses all available means to prosecute and deport the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Baltimore is comprised of agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the District of Maryland, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the United States Marshals Service (USMS), the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA (W/B HIDTA), the Mary
U.S. Attorney Hayes praised the HSI-led Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force, the IRS-CI and the EPA-OIG for their contributions to the investigation, and the Anne Arundel, Prince George’s, and Montgomery County Police Departments for their help. Ms Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harry M. Gruber and Bijon A. Mostoufi, who prosecuted the federal case, and Paralegal Specialist Joanna B.N. Huber for her help.
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