MIDDLETOWN – A Monmouth County Man has been sentenced to five years in prison for laundering money on behalf of the Cape Town Zone of Black Axe, state officials said.
Andrew Suarez, 30, of Middletown, previously pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with money laundering conspiracy.
According to officials, Suarez worked with conspirators to launder money to entities in the Cape Town, South Africa, area between August 2017 and December 2017. This included an account in the name of Abravoo Trading Company, an entity controlled by a founding member of the Cape Town Zone of Black Axe. Black Axe members were responsible for widespread internet-based fraud schemes, officials said.
“Suarez opened up bank accounts in the United States, which were then used to conceal money obtained through business email compromises and other fraud schemes. Suarez transferred the proceeds of the fraud schemes to other U.S. bank accounts and wired proceeds to bank accounts in Cape Town, South Africa,” officials said.
In order to avoid detection, Suarez changed the information on some of his bank accounts, listing the name and address of a victim on the accounts. This totaled in a loss of about $525,000, officials said.
In addition to the prison term, Suarez was sentenced to three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, Red Bank Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, and the U.S. Secret Service’s Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron Hatley. He also thanked the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago, for its assistance in the case.
