Grosse Pointe Park Businessman Sent To Prison For Money Laundering

GROSSE POINTE PARK, MI — A Grosse Pointe Park businessman was sentenced to three years in federal prison for money laundering and obstructing the IRS, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Matthew Adams, 37, pleaded guilty to the charges on Feb. 14. In addition to prison time, the judge ordered three years of supervised release and $3,354,973 in restitution to the IRS, officials said.

Adams, who owned MDA Property Services, sold illegal narcotics to the president of a company between 2008 and 2017, officials said.

The buyer used money stolen from the company to buy the illegal drugs from Adams, officials said.

The buyer paid Adams through checks that made out to Adam's company and other entities he owned to make it appear the money was for legitimate work, officials said.

Investigators said the buyer paid Adams more than $10 million through checks, which Adams deposited into his personal bank accounts and cashed roughly $5.3 million at a liquor store.

Adams never reported the income he made from selling illegal narcotics on his tax returns between 2013 through 2016, and did not file a 2017 tax return, officials said.

Investigators determined through a 2017 tax audit that Adams lied to IRS agents multiple times about the amount of legitimate work covered by the checks he received from his narcotics customer, officials said.

Overall, officials said Adams took more than $1 million in cash from his narcotics sales and used it to buy real estate. He spent more than $1.25 million on private flights, golfing, jewelry, gambling, child support, hotels and a gun, officials said.

He also bought multiple vehicles, including a Cadillac Escalade and a Hummer, officials said.