For some, Cryptocurrency is the future of money while the rest of us are still trying to figure out how it all works. The "crypto" movement has created instant wealth for some and instant losses for others but the problem remains that because its such a new thing there's folks who using it to scam others. A pair from Virginia are in huge trouble after they were indicted in Tyler for their roles in a cryptocurrency money laundering scheme.

A 75-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man face up to 20 years in federal prison.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Lois Boyd, of Amelia Court House, VA, and Manik Mehtani, of McLean, VA, were named in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury, charging them with a violation of the Travel Act, money laundering, and money laundering conspiracy.

According to the indictment, Boyd and Mehtani are alleged to have conspired with others to receive victim money derived from a variety of fraud schemes and launder the proceeds through cryptocurrency.

The defendants are alleged to have routinely structured deposits in order to avoid transaction reporting requirements and to conceal the nature and source of the criminal proceeds. The defendants allegedly exchanged the criminal proceeds for cryptocurrency and directed the cryptocurrency to wallets under the control of their foreign co-conspirators.

They Got Caught Coming To Longview In An Attempt To Collect Cash

In August 2020, the defendants traveled to Longview, where they attempted to exchange more than $450,000 for Bitcoin. Because they came to Longview from Virginia, they were in violation of The Travel Act, which forbids the use of the U.S. mail, or interstate or foreign travel, for the purpose of engaging in certain specified criminal acts. They were temporarily detained and the money was seized. In the course of their operation, Boyd, Mehtani, and their co-conspirators allegedly laundered more than $750,000.00. A grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt.