21 People Indicted for Money Laundering Schemes in Tyler, Texas

Twenty-one people have been indicted in Tyler, Texas for their part in cryptocurrency money laundering networks that the U.S. Attorney General's office says have been under investigation for years.

KETK reports that "according to court documents unsealed on Wednesday, the networks include those that laundered millions of dollars stolen from U.S. fraud victims through romance scams, business email compromises, technical support schemes, and other fraud schemes."

And on top of that, the main demographic targeted by these money laundering schemes? Members of what we lovingly refer to as 'the Greatest Generation.'

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The U. S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas Brit Featherston said in a recent press conference that "protecting our greatest generation remains our number one priority."

The U.S. Attorney General's office and the U.S. Secret Service have referred to these ongoing efforts to uncover the money laundering networks and their schemes as Operation Crypto Runner.

Nathaniel Kummerfeld, Assistant U.S. Attorney and Deputy Chief for Complex Fraud and Public Corruption said "the operation is intended to dismantle and disrupt networks that transact and transfer cryptocurrency on behalf of foreign fraud organizations."

Since Operation Crypto Runner began in 2019, "over $300 million of money laundering transactions have been disrupted by Operation Crypto Runner," KETK reported.

As impressive as those efforts already sound, William Smarr, a special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Dallas Field Office, said this is just the beginning. Smarr said:

“These arrests are just the beginning. We are committed to bringing each of the remaining perpetrators to justice.”