The executive director of the cryptocurrency ATM company S and P Solutions, Sonny Meraban, has been arrested this Thursday in Miami Beach for "money laundering and operating without a license" some ATMs linked to an outline of scam.
The 45-year-old man faces half a hundred charges for operating the ATMs without a money transmission permit and for misrepresenting his capabilities before federal regulators, who oversee compliance with industry standards, to avoid detection while benefiting. of transfers from victims of fraud.
The arrest warrant alleges a pattern of corrupt activity, conspiracy and violation of licensing requirements for operating the ATMs between August 2002 and last February.
"I would like to personally thank the United States Secret Service and the 28 additional agencies that worked alongside our office for their incredible work during the investigation of this case," prosecutor Michael C. O'Malley said in a statement announcing the accusation.
As confirmed by the investigators, during the operation there were 54 search warrants and 52 bitcoin machines intervened. In addition, the Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Prosecutor's Office has not only accused the owner of the company but has also charged his accomplices Reza Mehraban, 75, and William Suriano, 69.
The scammers extracted the cash from the victims and sent it to a wallet that appeared to be that of the victim, when in fact it belonged to a third party. As an example, they specified that a senior citizen completed three transactions in one hour and lost more than $10,000.
Meraban appeared this Thursday in a Miami-Dade extradition court and will travel to Ohio to be tried in the coming days.
