Two former executives from the payment processing company Allied Wallet have entered guilty pleas for their roles in a bank fraud conspiracy that orchestrated more than $150 million in prohibited and high-risk payment card transactions. Mohammad "Moe" Diab, 48, from Glendale, Calif., and Amy Rountree, 41, from Logan, Utah, appeared before United States District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton and each admitted to one count of bank fraud conspiracy, as detailed in an announcement by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Diab and Rountree, who held the positions of Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Operations, respectively, have been charged alongside two co-defendants in the scheme. The court has scheduled to conclusively accept their pleas at their sentencing hearings, slated for November of this year. Meanwhile, these recent developments add to the list of Allied Wallet's affiliated personnel facing sentences, with Thomas Wells already pleading guilty in 2021 and Rudy Dekermenjian in 2020, while Ahmad "Andy" Khawaja remains at large, not only on these bank fraud allegations but also facing charges related to campaign finance violations.
Within the confines of their positions at Allied Wallet, Diab and Rountree were deeply involved in a sophisticated ruse to trick banks into processing these transactions, despite the involved merchants being tied to online gaming, debt collection, and other high-risk or illegal endeavors. By creating shell companies and counterfeit websites, the defendants effectively concealed the true nature of the transactions, managing to wrongfully move substantial sums through the financial systems.
According to the charging documents, Diab and Rountree's scheme primarily relied on manipulating how merchant transactions were categorized. The severity of the bank fraud conspiracy charge each faces could mean up to 30 years in prison, alongside potential fines, forfeiture, and restitution should court proceedings confirm their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Food and Drug Administration, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and Homeland Security Investigations in New England have thoroughly investigated this case, revealing its serious implications. Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy and other officials emphasized their teamwork in exposing and prosecuting this fraud.
