Orlando Man Sentenced to Over Three Years in Federal Prison for Opening and Operating Bank Accounts in International Fraud Scheme

Orlando, FL - Joseph Elegele, Jr. (41, Orlando) has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Julie S. Sneed to 3 years and 10 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering. As part of his sentence, the court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $801,559.33, the proceeds of his criminal conduct. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

Elegele pleaded guilty on December 18, 2025.

According to court documents, between August 2017 and June 2023, Elegele was part of a fraud scheme that laundered funds that had been fraudulently obtained from various businesses throughout the United States and in the Bahamas. Elegele's role in the scheme was to establish business bank accounts in the Middle District of Florida through which large money transfers could be routed. Other members of the conspiracy, who were located overseas, used online communications and business email compromises to scam the businesses into making fraudulent transfers to accounts controlled by Elegele, who then immediately made large cash withdrawals or cashier check purchases to launder and dissipate the fraud proceeds. Elegele kept portions of the proceeds for himself and passed the remainder on to other scheme conspirators.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chauncey A. Bratt. The forfeiture is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Andrejko.