A Woburn resident, Nnamdi Opara, has been charged with two counts of bank fraud and five counts of money laundering in connection with an ongoing investigation into the theft of U.S. Treasury tax refund checks in Massachusetts.
According to charging documents, Opara allegedly obtained two U.S. Treasury checks issued to a New York company, AFGO Mechanical Services, Inc. He is accused of creating a Massachusetts-based entity with the same name and appointing himself as President, Treasurer, Secretary, Vice President, Director, and Registered Agent. The documents state that Opara deposited the stolen checks into an account controlled by this new entity despite it never having filed a federal tax return. Authorities allege that he stole $700,767 from the U.S. Treasury through these actions.
It is further alleged that Opara conducted several illegal financial transactions intended to hide the origin of the funds taken from the stolen Treasury checks.
If convicted on bank fraud charges, Opara faces up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine up to $1 million. Money laundering charges carry potential penalties of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value involved in the transaction. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge according to U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and relevant statutes.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley stated: “The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.” The announcement was made jointly by Foley; Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge at IRS Criminal Investigation’s Boston Field Office; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Sullivan is prosecuting the case.
