Ossian Woman Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison

FORT WAYNE - Janis A. Sexton, 63 years old, of Ossian, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Holly A. Brady after pleading guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and money laundering, announced United States Attorney Adam L. Mildred.

Sexton was sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release. She was ordered to pay $1,679,934 in restitution to multiple identified victims.

According to documents in the case, Sexton knowingly conspired with others to defraud victims of millions of dollars and then laundered the fraud proceeds through her shell companies and bank accounts. Starting in December of 2020, and extending through August of 2022, Sexton created four shell companies and established accounts at multiple banks. Through a variety of schemes, the conspiracy deceived victim businesses and some individuals into wiring money to accounts under Sexton's control. After laundering the money through her accounts, Sexton sent fraud proceeds to an overseas conspirator, sometimes by converting the money into cryptocurrency. In total, the conspiracy tried to steal over $4 million, and Sexton and her conspirators actually obtained a little over $2 million in fraud proceeds, primarily through business email compromise schemes and fraud against a government program.

This conspiracy victimized many businesses through business email compromise schemes. With this type of scheme, conspirators gained access to a business's emails and obtained inside information about existing invoices and accounts receivable or accounts payable. Conspirators then sent emails that looked legitimate and purported to change existing payment information, with the new payment account being under the control of a conspirator such as Sexton. In wiring money, victims believed that they were sending payment to their vendors, clients, and business associates, but they were instead deceived into sending money to Sexton.

"The Defendant was extremely sophisticated. Thanks to the professional investigation put together by the FBI with the assistance of the Stamford Police Department in Connecticut, the Defendant was caught, prosecuted, and sentenced," Mildred said.

"This wasn't a simple scheme - the defendant set up shell companies, opened multiple accounts, and even coordinated with an overseas contact, all in an attempt to avoid detection. In the end, that didn't work," said Timothy J. O'Malley. "Cases like this show that even complex fraud leaves a trail, and the FBI remains committed to identifying and holding accountable those who break the law."

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Stamford, Connecticut, Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony W. Geller.