NEW YORK—Tech-savvy fraudsters stealing from government pandemic relief programs to help businesses have found a convenient way to launder the money: they’re opening accounts with at least four online investment platforms, law enforcement officials said.
The digital platforms, investigators said, are easy to dump the money into by setting up accounts with stolen identities. More than $100 million in fraudulent funds passed through investment accounts since Congress passed the CARES Act last March, according to authorities, CNBC reported.
Thieves have used Robinhood, TD Ameritrade, E-Trade and Fidelity to launder the money, a law enforcement source said.
An inspector general’s report issued last October blamed inadequate controls for billions of dollars in potential fraud.
“The thieves are loving this stuff. This has been the financial crime bonanza act of 2021,” Charles Intriago, a money laundering expert and former federal prosecutor, told CNBC.
Due to the size of the potential fraud, he said, law enforcement is facing “a behemoth situation where the money is so massive, and the criminals are looking at it as a great opportunity. They’re salivating at the chance to rip it off.”