New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Operating an Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business

BOSTON - A New Jersey man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston in connection with his operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business, despite his reason to believe that the funds he received were derived from criminal offenses and were intended to be used to promote and support unlawful activity.

Shadrach Anapalum, 36, of Newark, pleaded guilty to one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, who scheduled sentencing for June 10, 2026.

Between May and December 2022, Anapalum received approximately $375,000 from at least four victims of online scams. Anapalum generally kept approximately 10 percent of the funds for himself, before transmitting the money elsewhere, including to bank accounts in China and Turkey. In a consensually recorded call with a cooperating witness, Anapalum said he lied to a bank about the nature of the checks he was depositing and agreed that what he was doing was not legitimate.

The charge of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business provides a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks Special Agent in Charge of Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Kearney of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.