International Money Laundering Scheme
Two Bulgarians were sentenced to four years in prison for their roles as money launderers for a transnational criminal group based in Eastern Europe. The suspects also had to pay more than $600,000 in restitution. The scheme involved posting advertisements on eBay and other websites, fraudulently offering expensive cars and boats for sale that they did not actually possess. When victims expressed interest in the merchandise, they were contacted directly via e-mail by a purported seller. The victims were then instructed to wire transfer payments through "eBay Secure Traders" (an entity with no actual affiliation to eBay), a ruse to persuade the victims that they were sending money into a secure escrow account pending delivery and inspection of their purchase. The victims' funds were actually wired directly into bank accounts in Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Greece that were controlled by the suspects and their coconspirators in Poland and Romania. According to court documents, in less than one year, the criminal conspiracy netted more than $1.2 million from U. S. victims alone.
Question
1. Can you name the different types of organized crime offenses that took place during this scheme?