A man from San Fernando, California, has been sentenced to federal prison for operating an illegal money transmitting business. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Victor Rubio Jr., 28, had pleaded guilty on February 6. U.S. District Judge George Hanks ordered Rubio to serve the maximum sentence of 60 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. During the hearing, additional evidence of other frauds committed by Rubio while on bond was considered, leading to extra points for obstruction of justice. Judge Hanks noted that Rubio had obstructed justice after writing a letter asking for leniency and apologizing for his initial crime.
Rubio admitted that between 2021 and 2022, he operated an unlicensed money transmitting business linked to a business email compromise (BEC) scheme using shell companies that existed only on paper.
As part of his plea agreement, Rubio acknowledged opening and maintaining bank accounts to collect money from at least two victims in a BEC scheme: a healthcare liability insurance company headquartered in Georgia and a township in New Jersey. He then transmitted the fraud proceeds to co-conspirators for a fee.
Victims were deceived into sending interstate wire transfers to Rubio instead of their true creditors due to fraudulent wire instructions from spoofed email accounts.
More than 45 individuals across multiple states have been charged in separate BEC schemes affecting numerous victims, including Rubio and seven others in the Southern District of Texas.
Rubio was previously released on bond but is now in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility yet to be determined.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI – Bryan Resident Agency and IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Belinda Beek is prosecuting the case.
