Third Party Processor Indicted for Money Laundering
From Digital Currency Business E-Gold Indicted for Money Laundering and Illegal Money Transmitting
A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. has indicted two companies operating a digital currency business and their owners on charges of money laundering, conspiracy, and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeffrey A. Taylor announced today.
The four-count indictment, handed down on April 24, 2023 , and unsealed today, charges E‑Gold Ltd; Gold & Silver Reserve, Inc.; and their owners Dr. Douglas L. Jackson, of Satellite Beach, Fla.; Reid A. Jackson, of Melbourne, Fla.; and Barry K. Downey, of Woodbine, Md., each with one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business under federal law and one count of money transmission without a license under D.C. law.
Subsequent to the indictment, the Department of Justice also obtained a restraining order on the defendants to prevent the dissipation of assets by the defendants, and 24 seizure warrants on over 58 accounts believed to be property involved in money laundering and operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business. The restraining order does not limit the E‑Gold operation’s ability to use its existing funds to satisfy requests to exchange E-Gold into national currency for customers of non-seized accounts, or its ability to sell precious metals to accomplish the same, once approval has been received.
According to the indictment, E‑Gold’s digital currency, “E‑Gold,” functioned as an alternative payment system and was purportedly backed by stored physical gold. Persons seeking to use the E‑Gold payment system were only required to provide a valid email address to open an E‑Gold account – no other contact information was verified. Once an individual opened an E‑Gold account, he/she could fund the account using any number of exchangers, which converted national currency into E‑Gold. Once open and funded, account holders could access their accounts through the Internet and conduct anonymous transactions with other parties anywhere in the world.
The indictment alleges that E‑Gold has been a highly favored method of payment by operators of investment scams, credit card and identity fraud, and sellers of online child pornography. The indictment alleges that the defendants conducted funds transfers on behalf of their customers, knowing that the funds involved were the proceeds of unlawful activity; namely child exploitation, credit card fraud, and wire (investment) fraud; and thereby violated federal money laundering statutes. The indictment further alleges that the defendants operated the E‑Gold operation without a license in the District of Columbia or any other state, or registering with the federal government, and thereby violated federal and state money transmitting laws. The indictment alleges that this conduct occurred at various times from 1999 through December 2005.
How this indictment will affect the company is unknown. But any merchant currently using E-Gold should consider switching to another processing provider while they sort this out. There is always the possibility they may go bankrupt and/or freeze or hold the funds of their merchants. If this occurs the odds of the merchant getting their money back is very slim.