2 February – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced today that defendant Edi Mulyanto has pled guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1960 and 2.
According to documents filed in the case, from at least January 2004, through in or around September 2004, Mulyanto operated a money transmitting business without a license from the State of Florida, and failed to register the business with the Department of the Treasury. Mulyanto conducted the money transmitting business under the name of Indo Connection, Inc., a business incorporated in the State of Florida, with its principal place of business in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Mulyanto was the President and an authorized signatory on bank accounts of Indo Connection, Inc.
During this time period, Mulyanto and his agents collected money from crew members of various cruise ships across the country to be deposited in bank accounts of Indo Connection, Inc. The defendant falsely represented to others that the business was a licensed money transfer company. The funds collected represented wages earned by the crew members to be transmitted to family members in Indonesia. Mulyanto charged a fee for providing this money transmitting service. In total, approximately $3,063,705 were transferred from bank accounts in the name of Indo Connection, Inc, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to bank accounts in the name of associates of the defendant in Indonesia.
Indonesia is considered a country of high-risk for money laundering and terrorist financing. Terrorist groups such as Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, are known to have cells operating in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and the southern Philippines. At this time, there is no indication that the funds involved in this case were used to finance terrorism.
The defendant faces up to five years’ imprisonment and a criminal fine of $250,000. United States District Court Judge James I. Cohn has scheduled sentencing for April 28, 2006 at 9:30 a.m. in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
The United States Attorney commended the efforts of Federal Bureau of Investigation in the investigation and prosecution of this case. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eloisa D. Fernandez.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
