Judge closes 1MDB chapter with 10-year sentence and more

Judge closes 1MDB chapter with 10-year sentence

In March, a U.S. judge handed out a 10-year jail sentence to former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng for money laundering and violating anti-bribery laws, closing a chapter on one of the world’s biggest-ever financial scams.

Prosecutors allege that Ng helped facilitate a scam that skimmed off much of the $6.5 billion raised between 2012 and 2013 through three Goldman Sachs-led bond deals for sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Ng’s lawyers admit the scheme was “perhaps the single largest heist in the history of the world.”

Ng acted as a liaison between 1MDB and Malaysian financier Jho Low, who’s still at large and accused of stealing $4.5 billion of Malaysian development money to fund a lavish lifestyle and back Hollywood films, including Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street.” For his role in the scheme, Ng received $35 million in kickbacks, an amount that has yet to be recovered, say prosecutors. (See “Ex-Goldman banker given 10 years in prison for role in 1MDB fraud scandal,” by Edward Helmore, The Guardian, March 9, 2023 and “Ex-Goldman banker gets 10-year sentence in 1MDB looting plot,” by Bobby Caina Calvan, AP News, March 9, 2023.)

Fraudster uses death certificates to defraud government

A woman in Chicago used information stolen from dozens of dead people to defraud the government of over $45,000 in tax refunds and stimulus money.

Prosecutors allege that Katrina Pierce obtained more than 36 death certificates of children and adult murder victims in Illinois. She pretended to be related to them by employing aliases and used their personal information, including birthdates and Social Security numbers, to file for tax refunds and pandemic stimulus payments.

This is Pierce’s fourth federal fraud conviction in a history of theft and fraud that began in 1996 and the third time she’s committed a crime while under supervised release. (See “Woman Used Identities of Dead People to Defraud U.S., Officials Say,” by Christine Chung, The New York Times, Feb. 12, 2023.)

Crime gang tricks public safety department in ID scam

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has admitted to unknowingly sending multiple driver’s licenses to a New York-based Chinese crime group, leaving 3,000 Asian Americans vulnerable to identify theft.

DPS director Steve McCraw revealed in February that the criminal group obtained licenses with Asian names to sell to undocumented immigrants, mainly from China, so they could impersonate the victims. Using personal information bought on the darknet, the fraudsters were able to answer security questions on the state’s Texas.gov website and purchase replacement driver’s licenses.

According to deputy director of law enforcement services Jeoff Williams, the case of identity theft was discovered when a credit card company was notified about a fraudulent charge made through the state website. The DPS said it will replace licenses free of charge. (See “3,000 Asians in Texas had their driver’s licenses sent to a criminal group. They want answers.” by Kimmy Yam, NBC News, March 3, 2023.)