Texas Man Pleads Guilty in Boston: Deed Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme Topped $1.5 Million, Sentencing Set for February 2027
A Texas man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston, Massachusetts, for his role in a scheme that impersonated property owners, sold their land and laundered the proceeds, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on November 4. The scheme involved more than $1.5 million in fraudulent property sales.
Moshe Levi, 61, of Carrollton, Texas, pleaded guilty on November 3 to wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun scheduled sentencing for February 11, 2027. Levi was charged along with two co-defendants in July 2026; the charges against the remaining defendants are allegations, and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
According to court filings, Levi and his co-conspirators targeted vacant and unencumbered properties in Massachusetts, Georgia, Indiana and Tennessee owned by people who lived out of state. They established email and internet telephony accounts and obtained fake identifications, including driver's licenses and passports, in the owners' names, then impersonated the record owners to trick real estate professionals into listing and selling the properties to unsuspecting buyers. Since about June 2023, Levi and others allegedly shared, and attempted to share, roughly $1 million in illegal proceeds.
To launder the money, the conspirators moved the proceeds of the fraudulent sales by check and wire transfer through individual and corporate bank accounts they controlled, intending to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership and control of the funds. Wire fraud conspiracy carries up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater; money laundering conspiracy carries up to 20 years, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the transactions, whichever is greater. Actual sentences are set by a federal district judge under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley for the District of Massachusetts and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Boston Field Office, announced the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Kosto, Chief of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit, is prosecuting the case.
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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