Union County Man Sentenced for Fraud, Money Laundering

A Union County man was sentenced to prison for providing fraudulent immigration documents involving sham marriages and attempting to deposit a fraudulent tax return check of more than $100,000, the United States Attorney’s Office said.

Maxwell Poku, 36, a naturalized citizen of Ghana, of Union, New Jersey, was sentenced to 24 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to an information charging him with one count each of immigration fraud, wire fraud and money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Poku was president and CEO of Max$Max Finance and Travel LLC (Max$Max), a business with offices in Elizabeth, Orange and Ghana, which claimed to offer immigration consultation and other services to the African community. He admitted to helping a number of people gain immigration benefits for which they were not eligible by filing documents that falsely claimed they were married to United States citizens, the attorney’s office said.

Poku admitted to paying individuals to act as sham spouses and provided false letters of employment, utility bills, credit card statements and more. The U.S. Attorney’s Office reported Poku downloaded the phony documents and altered them to demonstrate the marital status of the immigrant petitioners.

Poku was charged with money laundering after acquiring a refund check of $115,138, as a result of a fraudulent tax return. He deposited the check after incorporating a business entity in New Jersey, but authorities recovered the money before it could be withdrawm, the attorney’s office reported.

In addition to the 24 month prison sentence, Poku must serve three years supervised release and pay a fine of $75,000. He must forfeit $10,500, and computer media and equipment seized from Max$Max on the day of his arrest on August 10, 2012.