United States of America v. Joseph Elegele, Jr.

Orlando, Florida, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Between August 2017 and June 2023, Joseph Elegele, Jr. (41, Orlando) was part of a fraud scheme that laundered funds that had been fraudulently obtained from various businesses throughout the United States and in the Bahamas. Elegele’s role in the scheme was to establish business bank accounts in the Middle District of Florida through which large money transfers could be routed. Other members of the conspiracy, who were located overseas, used online communications and business email compromises to scam the businesses into making fraudulent transfers to accounts controlled by Elegele, who then immediately made large cash withdrawals or cashier check purchases to launder and dissipate the fraud proceeds. Elegele kept portions of the proceeds for himself and passed the remainder on to other scheme conspirators.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chauncey A. Bratt. The forfeiture is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Andrejko.

The Defendant was sentenced to 3 years and 10 months in federal prison.