GREENBELT, Md — A money laundering conspiracy will leave a Silver Spring man behind bars.
35-year-old Francis Arthur was convicted of a money laundering conspiracy and for money laundering in connection with a scheme to defraud victim account holders at a credit union. The jury acquitted Arthur of a wire fraud conspiracy charge. The verdict was announced by attorney Erek L. Barron and Matthew R. Stohler of the U.S. Secret Service Washington Field Office and Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Department of Police.
Evidence in the trail showed that from October 2016 through April 2017, Arthur and his co-conspirators engaged in financial transactions designed to conceal the nature, source and ownership of the proceeds of a fraud scheme to obtain cash from victim account holders at a Maryland credit union. Evidence also showed that the conspirators transferred, withdrew cash, and caused cashiers’ checks to be issued from the proceeds of a fraud scheme. They then used the funds to purchase motor vehicles to conceal that the funds were derived from a fraud scheme.
Arthur faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the money laundering conspiracy and for each of five counts of money laundering.