$9.5M Stolen From MD Schools, Medical Center: Prosecutors

MARYLAND — Federal prosecutors said 10 Maryland residents were arrested last week in a money laundering scheme that stole millions from several organizations.

The U.S. Department of Justice said the suspects stole from government agencies, an environmental trust, an urban redevelopment program, a medical center, a transportation and logistics company, a school district, a college and a county government among other organizations.

The suspects are accused of using some of the money to buy vehicles for themselves. Officials said some of the vehicles were shipped or attempted to be shipped outside the country.

Investigators said these suspects were involved in $9.5 million worth of fraudulent transactions:

• Adanegbe Gift Osemwenkhae, 38, of Upper Marlboro
• Emily Gil Arias, 26, of Silver Spring
• Fatoumata Boiro, 30, of Largo
• Lakeisha Parker, 31, of Baltimore
• Martin Ogisi, 35, of Severn
• Blondel Ndjouandjouaka, 30, of Silver Spring
• Kevin Colon, 33, of Curtis Bay
• Lorena Perez Herrera, 27, of Silver Spring

The prosecution said these suspects were involved with more than $2 million in fraud proceeds:

• Yahye Sowe, a/k/a “Cash,” 40, of Largo
• Areal El-Lovieta Harris, 24, of Hanover

Undisclosed additional suspects are still on the run, a press release said.

The DOJ said the suspects tricked victims into sending them money by providing false banking information for legitimate costs the victims already needed to pay. The suspects opened business bank accounts, sometimes with stolen identities, to receive the fraudulent payments.

Prosecutors said the suspects then transferred the money to their personal accounts with cash withdrawals, debit card purchases, wire transfers and cashier's checks.

Some of the fraudulent proceeds were transferred to accounts outside the country, the DOJ said.

Investigators said the suspects were arrested after a Feb. 7 operation by the Homeland Security Investigations Mid-Atlantic El-Dorado Task Force, the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General, IRS Criminal Investigation and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

A federal grand jury in Maryland returned two indictments last year that were unsealed upon last week's arrests, prosecutors said.

If convicted, the suspects each face up to 20 years in federal prison for the conspiracy and for each count of money laundering.