Date: June 21, 2022 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov On May 24, 2022, a former Louisville, Kentucky resident was convicted and sentenced for conspiring to commit money laundering by assisting in the unlawful purchase of automobiles with criminal proceeds. On May 26, 2022, a Prospect, Kentucky resident was convicted and sentenced for a financial crime involving the use of a nominee to purchase automobiles in order to conceal the source of the funds used. These convictions follow financial crime convictions of two additional men, one earlier this year, and the other last year. "I commend the IRS, ATF, and LMPD for their investigative work in these cases," said United States Attorney Michael A. Bennett. "As the convictions demonstrate, this office and our law enforcement partners, will leave no stone unturned when it comes to conducting investigations involving financial crimes." "When criminals go to great lengths to conceal the source of their proceeds, IRS CI will follow the money to unveil the true source of the funds," said Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, IRS, Criminal Investigation. "We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and the US Attorney's Office to bring those committing financial crimes to justice." According to court documents, between 2016 and 2017, Stephen Mudd, Jr., formerly of Louisville, while working as a car salesman, helped falsify employment and bank account information in order to facilitate the purchase of automobiles with criminal proceeds—with either the proceeds providing a cash down payment, or the means of monthly payments on an automobile loan from a financial institution. Mudd knew that lenders would not extend financing without proof of a legitimate source of income. Additionally, Mudd had reason to know that the transactions involved proceeds of criminal activity. By assisting others in spending criminal proceeds, Mudd helped conceal the criminal source of the money and avoided reporting requirements that would otherwise apply to large cash transactions. On May 24, 2022, a United States District Judge sentenced Mudd to three years of probation and imposed a $4,000 fine. Mudd was also ordered to forfeit $6,188. In addition, on May 26, 2022, Dominic Harrison, of Prospect, Kentucky, was convicted and sentenced by a United States District Judge to three months of imprisonment and two years of supervised release with a condition that he serve months of home detention. Harrison previously pled guilty to violating Title 31, United States Code, Section 5324, which governs required reporting of large cash transactions. Harrison used third parties to conduct cash transactions related to the purchase of an automobile in order to evade the reporting requirements concerning the cash. Harrison was also ordered to forfeit $25,000 cash. Previously, two other men were also convicted for financial crimes. Verrel Brice, of Louisville, Kentucky, was convicted on August 23, 2021, for structuring cash transactions in violation of Title 31, United States Code, 5324. Brice received 30 months of probation and a $1,000 felony fine. Brice was also ordered to forfeit $2650 cash. O'Farrell Washington, of Austin, Texas, was sentenced on February 2, 2022, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. Washington was sentenced to time served followed by three years of supervised release and was ordered to forfeit $3,000. The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations Division, along with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Louisville Metro Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin McKenzie and Amy Sullivan prosecuted the cases. This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
