A participant in a scheme that stole millions from US service members pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering while admitting his role in stealing identities and robbing thousands of military victims, the Justice Department announced in a press release.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th December, 2019) A participant in a scheme that stole millions from US service members pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering while admitting his role in stealing identities and robbing thousands of military victims, the Justice Department announced in a press release.
"[Trorice] Crawford pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments," the release said on Friday. "By pleading guilty, Crawford admitted that from May 2017 to July 2019, he conspired... to steal money belonging to US Service members and veterans."
Crawford recruited at least 30 individuals as so called money mules, who provided their bank account information to receive funds stolen from military affiliated individuals, the release said.
On average, each unauthorized transfer from a victim's accounts ranged from between $8,000 to $13,000, according to the release. Crawford kept some money and forwarded the rest to his mules.
The scheme depended on data stolen by co-defendant Frederick Brown, who pleaded guilty earlier in connection with the theft.
Brown, a former civilian medical records administrator for the US Army in South Korea, admitted illegally capturing on his cell phone personal identifying information of thousands of military members, including names, social security numbers, DOD ID numbers, dates of birth, and contact information.
Crawford remains in prison awaiting sentencing on March 5. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
