Member Of Money Laundering Operation Pleads Guilty In Connection With $5 Million Online Vehicle Sale Scam

 

Other Defendants Involved in the Scheme Pled Guilty Previously

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Lithuanian national STANISLAV TUNKEVIC pled guilty in Manhattan federal court to conspiracy to commit bank fraud in connection with a scheme to launder fraud proceeds derived from an online vehicle sale scam that generated at least $5.3 million from dozens of defrauded consumers.  TUNKEVIC pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Tunkevic and his co-defendants have admitted to getting paid to use fake documents and shell companies to open bank accounts in order to receive criminal proceeds.  Without their knowing involvement, online fraudsters would not be able to profit from their illegal schemes.  Tunkevic and his co-defendants will now face prison terms and be required to forfeit their ill-gotten gains.”

As alleged in the Complaint and the Indictments and based on statements made in court:    

At various times from at least March 2019 through approximately March 2021, TUNKEVIC and co-defendants KAROL KAMINSKI, ARTURAS GILYS, and SVETLANA VAIDOTIENE were Lithuanian nationals who were recruited in Lithuania to travel to New York City in order to participate in a money laundering operation based in Brooklyn.  The operation was coordinated in New York City by co-defendant NATALIA KORZHA and also involved her son and co-defendant VLADISLAV NECEAEV.  Under the direction of KORZHA, NECEAEV, TUNKEVIC, KAMINSKI, GILYS, VAIDOTIENE, and other co-conspirators opened numerous bank accounts in the name of shell companies for the purpose of laundering money stolen from consumers who were trying to buy vehicles online.  In exchange, the defendants received a cut of the victims’ money. 

Other members of the conspiracy, pretending to represent car dealerships, advertised vehicles that they did not own and were not authorized to sell on fake websites with domain names that sounded like legitimate car dealerships or through online marketplaces like Craigslist and eBay.  Victims who responded to those advertisements and negotiated a purchase price were instructed by the purported sellers to wire payment to accounts that NECEAEV, KAMINSKI, TUNKEVIC, GILYS, VAIDOTIENE, and other co-conspirators opened.  Once the payments cleared, the defendants quickly withdrew the funds before the victims realized they had been defrauded.  The victims never received the vehicles they thought they had bought or any refunds from the fake sellers.  In total, dozens of victims were defrauded of a total of at least $5.3 million. 

TUNKEVIC, 48, of Vilnius, Lithuania, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and agreed to pay forfeiture and restitution in the amount of $405,000.  TUNKEVIC is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Torres on March 15, 2023.

KORZHA, 50, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud on May 4, 2022.  She was sentenced by Judge Torres on September 7, 2022, to 48 months in prison and was ordered to pay forfeiture and restitution in the amount of $5,386,538.

NECEAEV, 29, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud on March 14, 2022.  He was sentenced by Judge Torres on September 7, 2022, to 18 months in prison and was ordered to pay forfeiture and restitution in the amount of $458,300.

KAMINSKI, 32, of Vilnius, Lithuania, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud on November 9, 2022, and agreed to pay forfeiture and restitution in the amount of $338,700.  KAMINSKI is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Torres on March 15, 2023.

GILYS, 41, of Vilnius, Lithuania, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud on November 15, 2022, and agreed to pay forfeiture and restitution in the amount of $321,700.  GILYS is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Torres on March 15, 2023.

VAIDOTIENE, 55, of Vilnius, Lithuania, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud on September 20, 2022, and agreed to pay forfeiture and restitution in the amount of $271,000.  VAIDOTIENE is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Torres on January 18, 2023.

The offense of conspiracy to commit bank fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1,000,000.  The crime of conspiracy to commit money laundering carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction.

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of Homeland Security Investigations and the New York City Police Department.  He also thanked the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs of the Department’s Criminal Division, the United States Marshals Service, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania, and the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau for their assistance in this investigation.