US Govt seeks forfeiture of nearly $1M seized from Robinhood Markets account
United States Attorney Kurt R. Eskine has launched an action seeking forfeiture of nearly $1 million in funds seized from a Robinhood Markets account. The complaint, seen by FX News Group, was submitted at the Georgia Northern District Court on January 24, 2022.
This is a civil forfeiture action against $968,367.18 in funds seized from Robinhood Markets, Inc. account number XXXXX1342 held in the name of Choman Ali. The Defendant Funds were seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on or about November 20, 2020, pursuant to a Federal seizure warrant, from Robinhood Markets, Inc.
The Defendant Funds are presently located in a secure account maintained by the United States Marshals Service.
Between April and May 2020, Choman Ali (Ali) applied for three Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and five Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) loans on behalf of his businesses. The investigation revealed that Ali used proceeds of the loans for purposes that were not approved by PPP and EIDL rules.
Ali transferred the unlawfully obtained funds to his Robinhood account. For instance, between June 11 and June 22, 2020, $150,000 in funds were moved to the Robinhood Account via three $50,000 transfers, Then, between July 16 and July 28, 2020, $250,000 were moved to the Robinhood Account via five $50,000 transfers. The list continues…
The Defendant Funds are subject to forfeiture pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) on the grounds that the funds are derived from proceeds traceable to violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 (wire fraud) and 1344 (bank fraud).
These funds are also subject to forfeiture pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(A) because they constitute property involved in a transaction or attempted transaction in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956 or 1957 (money laundering) or are property traceable to such property.
The United States requests:
- that the Court forfeit the Defendant Funds to the United States ofAmerica;
- that the Court award Plaintiff the costs of this action; and
- that Plaintiff have such other and further relief as the Court deemsjust and proper under the facts and circumstances of this case.