A Connecticut man has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, federal authorities said.
William McNeely, 55, of New Haven, is charged with one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison if convicted, and three counts of unlawful financial transactions, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted.
The New Haven grand jury indictment was returned on June 5, 2024, and McNeely was arrested on June 6. He appeared before U.S. District Judge Maria E. Garcia in New Haven, pleaded not guilty and was released on $50,000 bail, according to federal authorities.
Authorities said in the indictment that McNeely owned and operated Global Income Marketplace LLC out of a store in West Haven, and that GIM was engaged in “website building, programming technology, and computer repair and upgrades,” according to its Connecticut registration.
Authorities said McNeely and another individual also operated a limited liability company registered in Delaware, Global New Media LLC.
Authorities say McNeely never received a license from the state banking department to “engage in the business of transmitting money,” but “opened multiple bank accounts in the names of GIM and GNM, and opened a virtual currency exchange account in the name of GNM, and used the accounts to operate a business converting customers' cash, checks and money orders into virtual currency and charging fees.”
Authorities say McNeely is accused of converting more than $1 million in U.S. dollars into cryptocurrency on behalf of clients across the U.S. between approximately July 2019 and June 2022. “McNeely knew that a portion of the funds associated with his illegal business operations came from the fraud scheme, and the investigation revealed that checks from victims of the romance fraud scheme were mailed to GIM and deposited into GIM's accounts,” authorities said in a statement.
Authorities also allege that in February 2021, “McNealy was contacted by TD Bank and told that the $10,000 wire transfer to GNM had been reported as fraudulent and that he needed a license to operate a money transmitting business,” but “despite the warnings and despite TD Bank closing his GIM and GNM accounts, McNealy continued his money transmitting business through other GIM and GNM bank accounts.”
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
