Fiona Lorraine Walters, 50, of Newburgh, NY, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 23, 2024, before United States District Judge Scott M. Rash.
Walters admitted that, between July 5, 2016, and August 15, 2020, she laundered over $300,000 in fraud proceeds through her and family members’ bank accounts.
The funds were fraudulently obtained from victims, many of them elderly, who sent the money under the belief they were paying fees associated with winning a lottery or sweepstakes, but which were scams.
Walters and her co-conspirators fraudulently transferred or kept the victims’ money, and no “winnings” were ever paid.
A conviction for conspiracy to commit money laundering carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the funds involved in the offence, whichever is greater, or both, and a three-year supervised release term.
This case was prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiative.
