Parker Man Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering in Connection with Stock Trading Scheme
DENVER – Corey Earl Engelen, age 47, of Parker, Colorado pled guilty last week before U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello to money laundering announced Acting United States Attorney Robert C. Troyer and IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Steven Osborne. Engelen and his co-defendant Michael Todd Osborn were indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on February 11, 2015. Engelen is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Arguello on January 31, 2017.
According to the indictment and plea agreement, Engelen and Osborn were introduced to each other in approximately July 2009. Beginning immediately, Engelen began assisting Osborn by finding and providing funds to pay his bail bondsman on charges in cases unrelated to the crimes charged in the District of Colorado. In October, the two stayed for an extended period in a California hotel. During that time, Engelen helped pay Osborn’s living expenses and began the process of finding an off-shore trust for their future use.
Meanwhile, Osborn developed a scheme to defraud investors. He falsely represented to them that he would use their funds to trade stocks on their behalf. Beginning in December 2009, Osborn instructed investors to wire their funds to accounts held in the name of Infinite One, LLC, which he represented to be the trading accounts he would use for the trades. In fact, the accounts were not trading accounts and were never used for trading. They were merely checking accounts opened and held by Engelen. All of the investors’ funds, $695,000, were deposited directly to Engelen’s Infinite One, LLC accounts, and the investors got nothing in return.
Engelen and Osborn used investors’ funds for their own personal benefit. Engelen used his share of the funds to make his home mortgage and car payments, to cover his day-to-day living expenses, and to travel to Europe and Africa. In June 2010, Engelen engaged in monetary transactions using the investors’ funds, knowing that the funds were the proceeds of some criminal activity. The funds he used were in fact the proceeds of Osborn’s wire fraud. Engelen admitted that on June 2, 2009, when he wired $44,915.76 from the Infinite One account to the account of Dream Motor Cars for the purchase of a Mercedes Benz for Osborn, he chose to avoid learning about what Osborn was actually doing to acquire those funds, and committed the felony offense of engaging in a monetary transaction in property derived from specified unlawful activity, wire fraud.
“If you buy luxury cars with money you know is criminal proceeds, you are laundering money, and we will prosecute you for it,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer.
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“Honest and law abiding citizens are fed up with the likes of those who use deceit and fraud to line their pockets with other people’s money,” said Steven Osborne, IRS Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge, Denver Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to bring our forensic accounting skills to this joint venture and help put a stop to this and other types of white collar crime.”
Engelen pled guilty to one count of money laundering which carries a penalty of not more than 10 years in federal prison, and a fine of up to $250,000. Osborn pled guilty on February 9, 2016 to wire fraud and money laundering and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Arguello on December 1, 2016.
This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation with assistance from the Special Enforcement Program of the Internal Revenue Service. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Linda Kaufman and Bishop Grewell.
