DOJ Press Release: Maryland Man Sentenced for Leading Multi-Million Dollar Money Laundering Conspiracy in Connection With HSTF Case
September 15, 2026
Baltimore, Maryland – A Maryland man received a federal-prison term, today, in connection with his role in a multi-million-dollar money laundering scheme.
Judge Matthew J. Maddox sentenced Adanegbe “Gift” Osemwenkhae, 41, of Upper Marlboro, to eight years in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for money laundering. Judge Maddox also ordered Osemwenkhae to pay $20,851,940.80 in restitution. In April 2025, Osemwenkhae pled guilty to serving as a manager and supervisor of the large, multi-member, money laundering conspiracy.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge Akil Baldwin, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Kareem A. Carter, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) – Washington, D.C. Field Office; and Acting Special Agent in Charge George Golliday, Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General (EPA-OIG). This prosecution is part of the Trump Administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud along with the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF).
According to court documents, beginning in 2020, and continuing until February 2024, Osemwenkhae conspired with multiple individuals to launder proceeds of a large-scale wire fraud. The co-conspirators engaged in various financial transactions to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the wire-fraud proceeds, while carrying out the conspiracy.
Osemwenkhae supervised and exercised significant managerial control over the money laundering conspiracy and facilitated the laundering of more than $20 million in stolen proceeds from at least 15 different victims. The victims included government agencies, organizations, and companies, including an environmental trust, urban redevelopment program, medical center, transportation and logistics company, school district, college, and county government, among others.
As supervisor, Osemwenkhae used and controlled several different encrypted electronic communication accounts to supervise and manage the money laundering conspiracy. Osemwenkhae directed and worked with members of the conspiracy to create limited liability companies to serve as shell entities; open bank accounts and/or cause bank accounts to be opened in the name of their shell entity; and receive and launder fraud proceeds. He also helped coordinate the flow of fraudulent proceeds through various bank accounts and determine how to split funds between each member of the conspiracy as payment for their role in the conspiracy.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland charged 14 defendants in two different cases in connection with the money laundering conspiracy with 13 pleading guilty and receiving federal-prison sentences. Faizou Gnora, 29, previously of Alexandria, Virginia, remains a fugitive from justice. The Office also charged other co-conspirators in additional cases.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Baltimore comprises agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI); the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the District of Maryland; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); the United States Marshals Service (USMS); the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA (W/B HIDTA); the Maryland State Police (MSP); the Baltimore Police Department (BPD); and the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD) with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the HSI-led Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force, and thanked IRS-CI and EPA-OIG for their work in the investigation, and praised the Anne Arundel County, Queen Anne’s County Sherriff’s Office, Prince George’s County, and Montgomery County Police Departments for their assistance. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harry M. Gruber and Bijon A. Mostoufi, who prosecuted the federal case, and Paralegal Specialist Joanna B.N. Huber, for her assistance.
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Following the Money - Dismantling a Multi-Million-Dollar Fraud Network
Full DOJ Press Release: Maryland Man Sentenced for Leading Multi-Million Dollar Money Laundering Conspiracy in Connection With HSTF Case