Miami Man Found Guilty in $13.5 Million International Money Laundering Scheme

The U.S. Department of Justice reports in its press release (quotation, not an independent finding): “WASHINGTON – Rodrigo Molina, 33, a Brazilian national who resided in Miami, was found guilty by a federal jury on 11 of 16 charged counts related to a $13.5 million money laundering conspiracy, Acting Assistant Attorney General Rita M. Glavin of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta of the Southern District of Florida announced. Molina was found guilty on Feb. 25, 2009, following a seven-day jury trial in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The indictment also charged Marcos Neto Macchione, 32, a Brazilian national residing in Avenura, Fla. Macchione pleaded guilty in June 2008 to the conspiracy to launder $13.5 million in fraud proceeds. The indictment followed the arrests of Molina and Macchione in Florida as well as 18 individuals in Brazil, including the alleged leader of this criminal organization, Doron Mukamal, as well as his partners, associates and employees. Molina and Macchione were responsible for laundering the funds illegally obtained through the telemarketing scheme. According to evidence presented at trial, the leaders of the Brazilian telemarketing scheme (the Brazilian defendants) offered to purchase nearly worthless stock from foreign investors by offering them much more than the stocks were worth. The Brazilian defendants used well-designed Web sites to mislead their victims into believing that they were legitimate securities brokers. In order to carry out their scheme, the Brazilian defendants stole the identities of real U.S. broker dealers and created others that were fictitious. In many instances, the Brazi”