Sawan Shah aka Sunny operated an unlicensed money transmitting business.
AB Wire
An Indian American businessman in Columbus, Georgia, Sawan Shah aka Sunny, was sentenced to serve 21 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $1,357,476.18 for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
According to court documents, between February 2013 and March 2014, Shah owned, operated and managed several money transmitting companies in the Columbus area, the Justice Department reported.
Shah offered check cashing services to the public, including cashing of checks that exceeded $1,000. He knew that he and his companies were required to be registered with Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and with the State of Georgia. Neither Shah nor any of the businesses he controlled were registered with FinCEN or the State of Georgia as a money transmitting business or as a check cashier.
As part of his plea, Shah admitted that several individuals approached him about cashing tax refund checks that were issued in the names of other individuals. He agreed to do so and did not require proof of identification for the individuals listed on the checks.
Shah charged fees of between 10 and 30 percent of the value of the check, due to his knowledge that the checks were involved in tax fraud. In 2013 and 2014, Shah cashed approximately 567 federal tax refund checks that totaled $1,357,476.18.
Shah admitted in plea documents that those checks were the result of fraudulent claims for income tax refunds submitted in the names of stolen identities.
1 Comment
Stay away from Indian Doctors also they are apart of the scam on US Citizens