French National Sentenced To Eight Years In Prison For Laundering Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars Using Shell Companies And Crypto Accounts

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Washington, D.C., Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation ("IRS-CI"), Cynthia Hearn, and Acting Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), James C. Barnacle, Jr., announced today that MAXIMILIEN DE HOOP CARTIER was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in a sophisticated international money laundering network that laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit proceeds, including the proceeds of drug trafficking, through the United States. CARTIER was sentenced today before U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil. On October 23, 2025, CARTIER pled guilty to one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

"Maximilien de Hoop Cartier exploited his knowledge of U.S. and international financial systems to launder drug money and other crime proceeds," said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. "De Hoop Cartier created a network of shell companies and crypto accounts to wash and conceal criminal proceeds. He used that network to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars from the United States to overseas criminal organizations, fueling their continued illicit operations. Stopping money laundering stops crime more broadly. This federal prison sentence sends a clear message that those who launder criminal proceeds will face serious consequences."

"Today's announcement demonstrates IRS Criminal Investigation's commitment to disrupting the illicit flow of money that enables narcotics traffickers to illegally launder millions in illicit drug money," said IRS-CI Acting Special Agent in Charge Cynthia Hearn. "Our Global Illicit Financial Team is proud to have provided its financial expertise in this investigation. CI and our law enforcement partners are committed to aggressively investigating individuals who engage in money laundering and other financial crimes."

"Maximilien de Hoop Cartier exploited U.S. companies and banks to launder hundreds of millions of dollars in support of international criminal enterprises," said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. "The FBI and our law enforcement partners on the New York Homeland Security Task Force remain determined to stopping illegal cash flow into foreign countries."

According to charging documents and other filings and statements made in court:

Since at least 2018 through the date of the defendant's arrest, CARTIER, a descendant of the Cartier family known for luxury jewelry, ran an unlicensed money transmitting business that operated an over-the-counter ("OTC") cryptocurrency exchange to buy and sell cryptocurrency on behalf of his clients. This operation played a key role in a sophisticated international money laundering network that exploited the U.S. financial system to launder hundreds of millions of dollars in criminal proceeds through the United States to Colombia, among other countries.

CARTIER's OTC cryptocurrency exchange consisted of a large network of U.S.-based shell companies that CARTIER operated and controlled for the sole purpose of converting cryptocurrency into hard currency. CARTIER opened more than a dozen accounts at U.S. banks, lying to the banks about the nature of his businesses and the purposes of the bank accounts. CARTIER fraudulently claimed the businesses operated in the software publishing and software development industries, when in fact they existed for the sole purpose of receiving and transmitting drug money and other crime proceeds. CARTIER used forged contracts, invoices, and other business records to make it appear to banks that the funds related to legitimate business rather than crime. CARTIER received drug money in the form of cryptocurrency, converted that cryptocurrency into hard currency, deposited it into shell company accounts that CARTIER opened and controlled, and then transmitted the funds to other nodes in the money-laundering network to further conceal their nature and origin before the funds were ultimately withdrawn in local currency in Colombia. CARTIER knew that he was operating a money services business for criminals but did not register as a money transmitting business or follow the anti-money laundering protocols required by law. In total, CARTIER personally helped launder more than $470 million through his shell companies.

In April 2021, as part of a separate investigation, a court issued warrants to seize three accounts held by CARTIER's shell companies because they had received approximately $937,000 in drug trafficking proceeds from an undercover law enforcement account. After the seizure, CARTIER and his lawyer met with federal agents and prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to persuade law enforcement to return the seized funds. During this meeting, CARTIER admitted that he told banks he was in the business of technology software services-instead of stating that he operated as a cryptocurrency exchange-and also acknowledged that he was operating as an unlicensed money remitter. CARTIER also lied to the federal agents, however, falsely claiming that he had know-your-customer and other compliance procedures and that he was in the process of applying for a money transmitting license; and provided forged business records to support his claim to the funds. Based on CARTIER's lies and forged records, a portion of the seized money was returned to him.

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In addition to his term of prison, CARTIER, 58, a resident of France and citizen of Argentina, was ordered to pay $2,362,160.62 in forfeiture, representing funds CARTIER kept as a commission for his work with the Network converting cryptocurrency to hard currency. He was additionally ordered to forfeit certain of his shell companies' bank accounts.

Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") and its New York Field Office; Homeland Security Investigations' New York El Dorado Task Force; and IRS-Criminal Investigation, Global Illicit Financial Team. Mr. Clayton also thanked the FBI's Legal Attaché Office in Colombia, the Colombian National Police, the Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs, and the U.S. Embassy in Colombia.

This case is being handled by the Office's Illicit Finance & Money Laundering Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer N. Ong, Eli J. Mark, and David A. Markewitz are in charge of the prosecution.