Former U.S. Defence Employee Faces 100 Years in Prison Over Nigeria-Linked Money Laundering Scheme
Samuel Marcus, a former employee of the United States Department of Defence, is facing up to 100 years in prison for allegedly assisting Nigeria-based fraudsters to launder millions of dollars through a complex international money laundering network.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced on Monday that the 33-year-old suspect had been arrested and formally charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, PulseNets learnt.
Court documents obtained by PulseNets further revealed that Mr Marcus was also charged with six counts of engaging in illegal monetary transactions and one additional count of money laundering involving unlawful concealment linked to a multimillion-dollar fraud operation.
Prosecutors alleged that the criminal conduct took place between July 2023 and December 2025, during which period Mr Marcus allegedly acted as a money mule for online scammers operating from Nigeria, even while employed as a Logistics Specialist with the U.S. Department of Defence.
Investigators said the defendant knowingly collaborated with fraudsters using aliases including Rachel Jude and Ned McMurray, among others, despite being fully aware of their illegal activities.
According to U.S. authorities, the syndicate behind the scheme is known for carrying out romance scams, cyber fraud, tax fraud, financing fraud, and business email compromise attacks, primarily targeting American victims and resulting in losses amounting to millions of dollars.
PulseNets reported that prosecutors stated Mr Marcus allegedly received proceeds from the fraudulent operations into both his personal and business bank accounts before transferring the funds to accounts controlled by the criminal network in Nigeria.
The indictment also claimed that Mr Marcus and other money mules, acting on instructions from the scammers, conducted additional financial activities for the group, including rapidly converting stolen funds into cryptocurrency and opening new bank accounts to support the laundering operation.
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Authorities further alleged that even after agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned Mr Marcus that the funds moving through his accounts were stolen and that the transactions matched known money laundering patterns, he continued to work with the Nigeria-based fraudsters.
If found guilty on all counts, Mr Marcus could face a combined maximum sentence of 100 years in federal prison, up to three years of supervised release, and fines totaling $2 million, prosecutors said.
