Rhode Island man faces 20 years for $25 million crypto laundering

A Rhode Island resident, Agustin Villa, has pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering involving cryptocurrency.

Villa, 61, was connected to an international drug trafficking ring led by Jin Hua Zhang, based in Staten Island, New York.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts revealed that this criminal network laundered over $25 million in drug proceeds and other illicit funds through a sophisticated operation.

Villa served as a courier for the organisation, playing a crucial role in converting large amounts of cash into cryptocurrency.

On May 26, 2022, Villa was involved in delivering over $75,000 in cash to a cooperating witness.

This money was subsequently converted into tether, a type of cryptocurrency, and transferred to Zhang, the leader of the operation.

The transactions included a fee for the service.

The investigation, which came to light in Boston in 2021, traced the flow of funds through multiple international locations, including Hong Kong, China, India, Cambodia, and Brazil.

The authorities were able to seize both cash and cryptocurrency from accounts linked to Zhang’s organisation, highlighting the extensive reach and complexity of the laundering operation.

Villa now faces serious legal repercussions.

The charge of money laundering conspiracy carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, followed by up to three years of supervised release.

In addition, Villa could face a substantial fine of up to $500,000 or twice the amount involved in the laundering activities, whichever is greater.

This case underscores the growing challenge of combating money laundering in the digital age, where cryptocurrency is increasingly being used by criminal organisations to obscure the origins of their illicit profits.