Philadelphia Woman Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering Conspiracy

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Domonesha Owens, 37, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty this afternoon before United States District Judge Joshua D. Wolson to conspiracy to launder a monetary instrument.

The defendant was charged by indictment in December of last year, arising from her role as a money mule who laundered more than $1 million in proceeds from fraud schemes targeting government entities.

As detailed in court filings and statements, starting in approximately August 2020, Owens and others conspired to conduct and attempt to conduct financial transactions involving interstate and foreign commerce, knowing that the property involved in the financial transactions represented the proceeds of unlawful activity, and which, in fact, involved the proceeds of wire fraud.

As part of the conspiracy, Owens and others caused bank accounts to be opened in the names of businesses, with Owens and others using these business bank accounts to launder fraud proceeds, conducting multiple financial transactions intended to disguise the nature and location of the proceeds, conceal the true ownership and control of the proceeds, and disguise the source of the funds. In return for helping launder these funds, Owens would be permitted to retain a portion of the fraud proceeds.

Specifically, the defendant helped launder the proceeds of business email compromise ("BEC") schemes targeting multiple local governments, that included Government Entity 1, which the conspirators caused to electronically transfer approximately $352,779 into an account controlled by Owens; Government Entity 2, which the conspirators caused to electronically transfer approximately $486,740 into an account controlled by Owens; and Government Entity 3, which the conspirators caused to electronically transfer approximately $155,210 into an account controlled by Owens.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on November 6 and faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison and a $2,000,270.94 fine.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the United States Secret Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys S. Chandler Harris and Nancy Potts.