Feds Charge Man With $1.7M Scheme to Convert Fake Checks Into Bitcoin

The FBI has charged a man from New York State with generating $1.7 million in revenues through counterfeit checks and business email compromise scams—and then converting most of the ill-gotten gains into Bitcoin.

Tushal Rathod, of Baldwinsville, NY, has been charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, with his alleged crimes taking place between November 2021 and June 2024.

Business email compromises see scammers steal login credentials, primarily through "spearphishing" cyber campaigns. Information about a company's upcoming payments is intercepted, with vendors then deceived into completing transactions through bogus domains.

In a court filing written by FBI special agent Samuel Morgan, the 44-year-old is accused of having received the funds through a network of seven bank accounts at six different financial institutions, with $1.2 million worth of BTC sent to external addresses.

The FBI alleges that at least three of these banks warned Rathod that the funds entering his account were from fraudulent sources, with the defendant accused of faking an invoice to create the illusion of legitimate income.

One institution, M&T Bank, showed this invoice to a victim, who confirmed it was fraudulent. Police reports were filed, with Rathod insisting he was the one who had been scammed. He then failed to provide any further requested documents.

"Based on my training and experience, I know individuals engaged in fraud schemes often open multiple bank accounts under business entity names to receive funds from victims, commingle victim funds with other seemingly legitimate funds, and then move them to other accounts," Morgan wrote.

Elsewhere in the court filing, it's alleged that Rathod "recruited" his girlfriend and even some of his family members to assist in the scheme.

"Over $1 million additional dollars were deposited into accounts controlled by Rathod’s girlfriend and family, although Citibank was able to recover $800,000 of those fraudulent funds," the FBI agent added.

In February 2023, it's alleged Rathod purchased 20.18 BTC and 20.16 BTC in two transactions—worth a total of $900,000—and sent it onward to an unidentified recipient that same day.

Records obtained by Google also suggest he complained to an associate that his bank accounts were continually being closed.

One of the witnesses who came forward to the FBI was a former partner who is the mother of his six-year-old child. She claimed that she suspected money laundering because of suspicious screenshots on the device, which included evidence of crypto transactions and conversations in other languages.

Rathod faces 20 years behind bars if convicted.