Two indicted in money laundering conspiracy

TYLER — A 33-year-old man and a 75-year-old woman were indicted for their roles in a cryptocurrency money laundering scheme in East Texas. According to federal authorities, Manik Mehtani, of McLean, VA, and Lois Boyd, of Amelia Court House, VA, were indicted by a federal grand jury, charging them with a violation of the Travel Act, money laundering and money laundering conspiracy. According to the indictment, Boyd and Mehtani allegedly plotted with others to receive money from victims of fraud schemes and launder the money through cryptocurrency. They allegedly have routinely structured deposits in order to avoid requirements of reporting transactions and to conceal the nature and source of the money. Mehtani and Boyd allegedly exchanged the money for cryptocurrency and sent the cryptocurrency to wallets under the control of their foreign co-conspirators. In August 2020, Boyd and Mehtani traveled to Longview where they attempted to exchange more than $450,000 for Bitcoin. They were temporarily detained and the money was seized. In the course of their operation Boyd, Mehtani and their co-conspirators allegedly laundered more than $750,000. If convicted, Boyd and Mehtani face up to 20 years in federal prison.