Man Sentenced to 10 Years in US for Laundering $4.5 Million from Email Scams

A US court has slapped a 10-year sentence on a man for laundering over $4.5 million via business email compromise (BEC) and romance scams.

The culprit is 31-year-old Malachi Mullings, a US resident from Sandy Springs, Georgia. Mullings pleaded guilty to the money laundering charges in January last year.

BEC Scammer Managed 20 Rogue Bank Accounts

As court documents have shown, the offender reportedly opened 20 bank accounts under “The Mullings Group LLC,” a fake company he used to launder ill-gotten gains between 2019 and 2021.

Mullings cycled his crosshairs through various entities, including private companies, a healthcare benefit program, and even seniors he deemed vulnerable to romance scams.

Perpetrator Laundered Stolen Money But Also Purchased Luxury Items

The perpetrator and his accomplices performed several transactions to cover their tracks, but they also haphazardly purchased luxury items, including jewelry and expensive cars.

“In one instance, Mullings laundered $310,000 that was fraudulently diverted from a state Medicaid program and had been intended as reimbursement for a hospital,” reads the US Department of Justice press release. “In another instance, Mullings obtained $260,000 from a romance scam, which Mullings used to purchase a Ferrari.”

The Significance of BEC Scams

BEC scams are a sophisticated strain of digital fraud in which threat actors target companies and other organizations and trick their employees into making wire transfers or handing over sensitive data. Perpetrators often use social engineering techniques to manipulate their victims into authorizing fraudulent transactions, leading to potentially significant losses that usually run into millions of dollars.

In addition to the immediate financial loss, the consequences of BEC scams extend to significant psychological distress for those involved. Employees tricked into facilitating these scams frequently suffer guilt and stress that have a tremendous impact on not only their productivity but also their professional reputation and relationships.

Protecting Against Scams Is Not Necessarily Complicated

Dedicated security software like Bitdefender Ultimate Security can help filter out scam attempts and other intrusions thanks to its comprehensive features. In addition to its scam detection module, it also detects and protects against viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, ransomware, zero-day exploits, rootkits, and other digital threats.

Additionally, specialized solutions like our AI-driven tool, Scamio, can curb threat actors’ attempts to scam you. It lets you quickly verify the authenticity of texts, emails or other online requests by simply pasting the text, link, image, or QR code for analysis. You can use Scamio for free on  WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or your web browser of choice. Scamio is currently available in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Romania, Australia and the UK.