https://dailyvoice.com/md/college-park/college-park-man-ordered-to-repay-13m-in-massive-money-laundering-conspiracy-feds/

A Maryland man who admitted helping oversee an $11 million money laundering conspiracy tied to business email scams and COVID-19 fraud has been sentenced to more than nine years behind bars.

Yahya Sowe, 42, of College Park, was sentenced to 114 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to participating in a large, multi-member money laundering conspiracy, according to the US Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland and Homeland Security Investigations.

Federal prosecutors said Sowe played a management role in a scheme that laundered more than $11 million stolen from victims across the country between 2021 and his arrest in February 2024.

Those victims included government agencies, hospitals, businesses, a college, a school district, a county government, an environmental trust, an urban redevelopment program, and a transportation and logistics company.

Investigators said Sowe and his co-conspirators used encrypted messaging platforms, shell companies, and bank accounts opened in those companies' names to move stolen money through layers of financial transactions, making it harder for victims and law enforcement to recover the funds.

"Mr. Sowe profited from fraud schemes ranging from business email compromise to COVID-19 relief programs," HSI Maryland Special Agent in Charge Akil Baldwin said. "The court's sentence and substantial restitution order demonstrate that there are severe consequences for abusing government programs and exploiting victims' trust."

In addition to his prison sentence, US District Judge Matthew J. Maddox ordered Sowe to serve three years of supervised release, pay $13,050,827.03 in restitution, and forfeit $1 million.

The case is part of a sweeping federal investigation that charged 14 defendants. Prosecutors said 13 have pleaded guilty, while one remains a fugitive.

Among those previously sentenced were defendants from Hyattsville, Bladensburg, Severn, Hanover, Silver Spring, Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Montgomery County.

During the investigation, agents seized cash, firearms, and electronic devices tied to the conspiracy, according to court records and investigators.