BOSTON — A Leominster man now facing a federal indictment is accused of stealing more than $1.3 million by depositing a forged tax refund check and then laundering the money using cashier’s checks payable to shell companies.
Jesse El-Ghoul, 31, was indicted on one count each of theft of government funds and bank fraud and four counts of money laundering, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement.
El-Ghoul was arrested and charged by criminal complaint on June 6.
According to the charging documents, El-Ghoul owned and operated Affordable Motor Group in Leominster and owed back taxes for the business.
On March 29, 2024, El-Ghoul allegedly deposited a tax refund check for $1,344,863, payable to Affordable Motor Group into his business bank account.
Prosecutors allege that the check had been issued by the U.S. Treasury to a Canadian company, based on its 2021 tax return, and the check had been forged and altered to be payable to El-Ghoul’s company.
In the days after depositing the check, prosecutors allege El-Ghoul returned to the bank and bought cashier’s checks for $235,280, $223,591, $202,643, and $425,000 payable to shell companies and to a law firm in connection with a third-party real estate transaction in eastern Massachusetts.
If convicted of theft of government funds, El-Ghoul faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.
If convicted of bank fraud, El-Ghoul faces a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million.
If convicted of money laundering, for each charge El-Ghoul faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the amount of money involved in the laundering transactions, whichever is greater.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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