Ocean County, NJ, Man Admits to Massive Money Laundering Scheme

A Lakewood man has admitted that he illegally laundered the proceeds of a massive wire fraud scheme.

On Tuesday, 41-year-old Eli Schamovic pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of money laundering.

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger's office says Schamovic made or caused others to make, numerous fraudulent financial transactions through at least two entities that he formed and established as merchants that used multiple credit card processing companies.

These transactions resulted in more than $1 million in losses to a multinational financial services corporation that specialized in payment cards. Schamovic laundered portions of the proceeds of this scheme, including through an approximately $500,000 wire transfer from a bank account under his control.

The charge of money laundering that Schamovic pleaded guilty to is punishable by up to a decade behind bars and a $250,000 fine.

Sentencing is scheduled for September 8th.

Sellinger thanked inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, the FBI, and special agents with the IRS-Criminal Investigation for their help in this case.