Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos Mendoza has sentenced Gabriel Aldemar Velez Torres (32, Orlando) to 3 years and 10 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering and structuring. Velez Torres entered a guilty plea on September 17, 2024.
According to court documents, in late February 2021, Cristian Rodriguez Labour recruited Velez Torres into this scheme and used his personal identifiers to incorporate a fake business, “Gabes Go Getter, Inc.” Between March 9 and 12, 2021, Velez Torres opened four different bank accounts at local banks in the name of this fake business. Thereafter, other conspirators working with Labour hacked into businesses throughout the country, causing those businesses to wire large amounts of funds to accounts held by “Gabes Go Getter, Inc.” Once received, Velez Torres transferred the bulk of the fraudulent proceeds to offshore accounts held by businesses in Weifang, China, then withdrew a portion of the fraud proceeds as payment for the laundering conspirators, often structuring those withdrawals to avoid law enforcement and regulatory scrutiny. During this conspiracy, conspirators directed $2,183,086.70 of fraud proceeds to and through business accounts for “Gabes Go Getter, Inc,” $741,043.11 of which was successfully laundered to Chinese offshore accounts.
Overall, members of the conspiracy successfully laundered $3,323,941 to offshore accounts in China and unsuccessfully attempted to launder another $5,057,777, all of which were the proceeds or attempted proceeds of computer fraud and cyber intrusions on small businesses and other entities throughout the United States and Canada. Other conspirators received the following sentences:
| Name | Plea Date | Count(s) in Indictment to Which Defendant Pleaded Guilty | Sentencing Date | Sentence Imposed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cristian Rodriguez Labour | 2/21/24 | 1 (conspiracy) | 6/21/24 |
7 years |
| Jihad William Morales | 5/2/24 |
1 (conspiracy) 2-8 (money laundering) 9-11 (structuring) |
8/22/24 | 5 years, 10 months |
| Michael Gabriel Robles Vazquez | 4/9/24 |
1 (conspiracy) 12-14 (money laundering) |
8/22/24 | 2 years, 10 months |
| Aramys Gonzalez Rodriguez | 3/25/24 |
1 (conspiracy) 15-23 (money laundering) 24-29 (structuring) |
9/18/24 | 4 years, 3 months |
| Jorge Ivan Ortiz Buil | 4/9/24 |
1 (conspiracy) 30-34 (money laundering) 35 (structuring) |
8/22/24 | 5 years, 3 months |
This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill.