Leader and Co-Defendant in Multi-Million Dollar Money Laundering Conspiracy Plead Guilty

Baltimore, Maryland - Yahya "Cash" Sowe, 42, of Silver Spring, Maryland, and Victor Killen, 32, of Hyattsville, Maryland, pled guilty to conspiring to engage in a large, multi-member, money laundering conspiracy. As part of his guilty plea, Sowe admitted that he served as a manager or supervisor of the money laundering conspiracy, personally obtained at least $1 million for participating in the conspiracy, and helped facilitate more than $11 million of money laundering, involving more than 12 different victim entities. Killen admitted as part of his plea that at least $3 million in money laundering occurred pursuant to his direct participation in the conspiracy.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Acting Special Agent in Charge Evan Campanella, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) - Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Kareem A. Carter, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) - Washington, D.C. Field Office; and Acting Special Agent in Charge George Golliday, Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Inspector General (EPA-OIG).

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland charged 14 defendants in connection with Sowe's and Killen's money laundering conspiracy. Thirteen have now pled guilty. Faizou Gnora, 28, previously of Alexandria, Virginia, remains a fugitive from justice.

According to the plea agreements, beginning in 2021, and continuing into February 2024, Sowe conspired with multiple individuals to launder proceeds of a large-scale wire fraud. The co-conspirators engaged in various financial transactions to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the wire-fraud proceeds, while carrying out the wire-fraud schemes. The victims included government agencies, organizations, and companies, including an environmental trust, urban redevelopment program, medical center, transportation and logistics company, school district, college, and county government, among others.

Sowe, Killen, and their co-conspirators used and controlled several different encrypted electronic communication accounts, which they used in furtherance of the money laundering, to supervise and manage the money laundering conspiracy. Sowe, Killen, and their co-conspirators worked with members of the conspiracy to create limited liability companies to serve as shell entities; open bank accounts and/or cause bank accounts to be opened in the name of shell entities; and receive and launder fraud proceeds.

Pursuant to the conspiracy, the co-conspirators often engaged in multiple financial transactions in quick succession, frequently layering wire fraud proceeds in multiple subsequent transactions. These financial transactions made it more difficult for the victims and law enforcement to recover the fraud proceeds.

Additionally, Sowe admitted engaging in a credit-card fraud scheme in which unauthorized charges were made using a merchant services account. Sowe also acknowledged that in 2023, he engaged in an attempted fraud, involving false and fraudulent employee retention credits (ERC). He stipulated that he worked with his co-conspirators to engage in pandemic-related fraud by submitting false and fraudulent ERC tax filings, and that he and his co-conspirators sought more than $1 million in ERCs.

Sowe and Killen are facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox scheduled sentencing for Sowe and Killen for Thursday, March 26, 2026, at 2 p.m. and Thursday, April 16, 2026, at 10 a.m., respectively.

In connection with this prosecution, Gedeon Agbeyome, 31, of Montgomery County, Maryland, and Areal El-Lovieta Harris, 24, of Hanover, Maryland, previously pled guilty, admitting to conspiring to commit money laundering.

Additionally, Adanegbe Gift Osemwenkhae, 39, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland; Emily Gil Arias, 28, of Silver Spring, Maryland; Fatoumata Boiro, 32, of Largo, Maryland; Lawrence Ogunsanwo, 33; Lakeisha Parker, 33, of Baltimore, Maryland; Martin Ogisi, 37, of Severn, Maryland; Blondel Ndjouandjouaka, 31, of Silver Spring, Maryland; Kevin Colon, 34, of Curtis Bay, Maryland; and Lorena Perez Herrera, 29, of Silver Spring, Maryland, previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Agbeyome also admitted engaging in aggravated identity theft and Parker acknowledged engaging in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

The District Court previously sentenced:

• Lawrence Ogunsanwo to 40 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release and restitution of $5,648,816.23
• Lakeisha Parker to 36 months in federal prison, followed by three years supervised release and restitution of $8,306,930.95
• Martin Ogisi to 33 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release and restitution of $11,077,044.17
• Blondel Ndjouandjouaka to 24 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release and restitution of $733,941.48
• Kevin Colon to 27 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release and restitution of $2,515,159.63

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the HSI-led Document and Benefit Fraud/Mid-Atlantic El Dorado Task Force, and thanked IRS-CI and EPA-OIG for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes praised the Anne Arundel County, Prince George's County, and Montgomery County Police Departments for their assistance. She also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harry M. Gruber, Bijon A. Mostoufi, and Jared M. Beim, who are prosecuting the federal case, and Paralegal Specialist Joanna B.N. Huber for her assistance.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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