Two Southern California men were arrested Thursday for allegedly spearheading a complex money laundering scheme which took more than $10 million from at least 100 victims, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Sylas Nyuydzene Verdzekov, 38, of Chino Hills, and Lovert Che, 44, of Lomita, were taken into federal custody Thursday, while a third defendant, Mustapha Nkachiwouo Selly Yamie, 29, of Inglewood, was still at large.
Each defendant was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The scheme mostly targeted elderly people, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California said in a statement.
The indictment alleges that beginning in November 2021, the defendants used fake identities and at least 36 shell companies representing “sham businesses.” They allegedly opened no fewer than 145 bank accounts under fake identities.
One scheme targeted elderly victims with phone calls and email pop-ups, and “defendants and their co-conspirators posed as law enforcement personnel or employees with well-known companies attempting to help the victims maintain the security of their accounts,” the indictment claimed.
The defendants then allegedly used fake badges and job titles to convince victims to send bank information under the guise of securing vulnerable bank accounts. Victims would send money from their own accounts to the fraudulent accounts, where they would no longer be able to access the funds.
The indictment claims that the defendants used this money on personal expenses such as rent.
Another alleged scam involved the defendants posing as fictitious real estate owners and tricking victims into thinking a legitimate sale of property was occurring, then pocketing the money.
If convicted, the three men would each face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The indictment alleges that the defendants “built a sophisticated fraud and money laundering scheme that targeted and preyed on our most vulnerable citizens,” said Acting U.S. Atty. Joseph T. McNally. “They not only stole the victims’ money, but robbed them of their security and trust.”
