4 Allied Pockets executives, together with proprietor and CEO Ahmad “Andy” Khawaja, have been indicted on fraud prices.
This newest spherical of indictments follows prices filed in 2019, in addition to an FTC lawsuit detailing theft of $110 million.
In accordance with a DOJ press-release put out earlier immediately;
4 people have been charged within the District of Massachusetts with conspiring to deceive banks and bank card firms into processing greater than $150 million in credit score and debit card funds on behalf of retailers concerned in prohibited and high-risk companies, together with on-line playing, debt assortment, debt discount, prescribed drugs, and payday lending, based on an indictment unsealed immediately in Boston.
Our curiosity within the case stems from the “high-risk companies”, a lot of which have been MLM pyramid and Ponzi schemes.
The indictees within the DOJ’s August twenty sixth announcement are Ahmad “Andy” Khawaja, 49, of Los Angeles, California, Thomas Wells, 74, of Martin County, Florida, Mohammad “Moe” Diab, 45, of Glendale, California, and Amy Ringler Rountree, 38, of Logan, Utah.
All 4 defendants have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Diab and Rountree are going through the extra cost of conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud.
The indictment alleges that Khawaja, Diab, Rountree, Wells, and others engaged in a scheme to defraud a number of monetary establishments, the cardboard manufacturers, and others of cash and property by fraudulently inducing them to supply cost processing companies to retailers engaged in prohibited or excessive danger transactions, and to retailers that have been terminated for fraud, chargeback, or different compliance considerations, via knowingly misrepresenting the sorts of transactions that the retailers have been processing and the true identities of the retailers.
The defendants and their co-conspirators completed the scheme via, amongst different steps, creating shell firms, designing pretend web sites that presupposed to promote low-risk retail and residential items, and utilizing industry-standard codes that miscategorized the true nature of the transactions.
By the scheme, the defendants and their co-conspirators fraudulently obtained greater than $150 million in cost card processing via greater than 100 sham retailers.
That is the play any time you see somebody harp on about “if that’s the case and so firm wasn’t legit, why would (insert respected finance firm) accomplice with them?”
For some purpose scammers flock to dodgy MasterCard retailers. With out fail these connections are arrange via shell firms as per the methodology above.
Word that I haven’t cited a replica of the unique indictment. I imagine it’s below seal for causes we’ll get into beneath.
Earlier than we proceed, it’s essential to notice the FTC fraud prices have been settled in Might 2019.
I imagine there may be vital overlap between the FTC’s lawsuit from 2019, and the conduct Khawaja and his fellow Allied Pockets executives have now been indicted for.
The related felony indictments from 2019 have been filed in opposition to Khawaja, Diab and 6 others.
These prices pertained to
conspiring to make and conceal conduit and extreme marketing campaign contributions, and associated offenses, in the course of the U.S. presidential election in 2016 and thereafter.
Khawaja (proper) labored with George Nader (one of many indictees and a convicted pedophile),
to hide the supply of greater than $3.5 million in marketing campaign contributions, directed to political committees related to a candidate for President of the US within the 2016 election.
By design, these contributions gave the impression to be within the names of Khawaja, his spouse, and his firm.
In actuality, they allegedly have been funded by Nader. Khawaja and Nader allegedly made these contributions in an effort to achieve affect with high-level political figures, together with the candidate.
As Khawaja and Nader organized these funds, Nader allegedly reported to an official from a overseas authorities about his efforts to achieve affect.
Khawaja was additional implicated in a $1.8 million internet of extreme contributions, organized with the opposite 4 defendants.
Upon studying of grand jury proceedings pertaining to his conduct,
Khawaja obstructed a grand jury investigation.
Understanding {that a} witness had been referred to as to testify earlier than the grand jury, Khawaja allegedly supplied that witness with false details about Nader and his connection to Khawaja’s firm.
As of July 2021, the case in opposition to Mohammad Diab continues to be enjoying out. Diab was launched on bond in December 2019.
He was re-arrested on these new prices on August twenty sixth.
Ahmad Khawaja, who has twin US and Lebanese citizenship, was by no means apprehended. He’s been a needed fugitive on the run ever since.
That’s to not say Khawaja has gone underground although.
In September 2020 it emerged Khawaja, who’s married to a Lithuanian nationwide, had been picked up by Lithuanian authorities on a world arrest warrant.
Police stated Ahmad “Andy” Khawaja “carried out multimillion-dollar transactions and was in possession of great quantities of cash” when arrested.
His detention on Sept. 3 on a world arrest warrant was saved secret, and police confirmed it solely after Monday’s ruling by a courtroom within the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, that he ought to stay in jail pending extradition hearings.
Khawaja is in custody on the request of the U.S. pursuant to an indictment issued in 2019.
The end result or standing of Khawaja’s extradition proceedings in Lithuania are unclear. I couldn’t discover any followup info.
All I can affirm is Khawaja, so far, hasn’t been extradited again to the US.
Up till June 2021, Khawaja was posting gratuitous covers in spammy advertorial publications.
Khwaja evidently sees himself because the savior of humanity.
Sidenote: Khawaja’s Instagram account stats are botted up the wazoo. As I write this he’s rocking 3.4 million followers, a whole bunch of hundreds of likes on every put up however has zero engagement.
For the reason that newest indictment Khawaja’s standing is unclear. If his social media is something to go by, Khawaja has been travelling freely all through Europe regardless of the Lithuanian arrest and his standing as a fugitive.
On the danger of stating the plain, Khawaja in all probability isn’t travelling on authentic paperwork.
On the time of publication there was nothing new on Pacer for Khwaja, Mohammad Diab or Thomas Wells.
Amy Ringler Rountree’s indictment case has appeared however doesn’t comprise the precise indictment.
I imagine it could be sealed pending Khwaja’s arrest (re-arrest?).
From Rountree’s case docket, she was arrested on August twenty sixth and introduced earlier than a courtroom in Utah later the identical day.
A Public Defender was assigned to Rountree and he or she was launched pending a to-be-determined look in Massachusetts.
On the time of publication Allied Pockets’s web site was accessible. The cost processor seems to nonetheless be in enterprise.
I’ve scheduled a case/docket verify for all 4 defendants for subsequent Wednesday. I’ll report again any updates then.
Replace 1st September 2021 – The Allied Pockets indictment was certainly sealed on August twenty fifth.
Following the arrest of Diab, Wells and Rountree on August twenty sixth, the indictment was unsealed on August twenty seventh.