51-Year-Old Queens, New York Man Admits Guilt For His Role In Two International Schemes

Sunday, August 11, 2024, 9:15 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

NEWARK, NJ.- On Thursday, August 8, 2024, a 51-year-old Queens, New York man appeared in U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey, and admitted guilt for his part in money laundering in connection with an elder fraud scheme and a computer fraud scheme.

     On Thursday, Hector Claveria, 51, of Elmhurst, New York, appeared in Newark federal court and entered a guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas to Count Two in a federal indictment charging Calveria with International Money Laundering, according to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.

     According to documents filed with the court, in early 2020, Calveria acted as a money mule for a fraudulent scheme by picking up multiple packages that contained cash that he knew were proceeds from criminal activity.

     Calveria then laundered some of the money in June 2020 by wiring $20,000 from his U.S. bank account to a foreign bank account. These funds were the proceeds of two fraudulent schemes. The first was an elder fraud scheme in which the perpetrators tricked elderly victims into believing that they owed money to various government agencies and companies and then caused the victims to send payments to locations identified by the perpetrators.

     The second was a computer fraud scheme in which the perpetrators tricked victims into believing that they owed money to a computer services company and instructed the victims to send payments to locations identified by the perpetrators. 

     At the time, Calveria wired the funds to a foreign account, knowing that the wire transfer was designed to conceal and disguise the nature of the money.

     Following entering the guilty plea, Judge Salas scheduled sentencing for December 19, 2024. At that time, Calveria will face a maximum term of 20 years in federal prison and a fine of $500,000, or twice the value of the monetary funds involved in the transportation, transmission, or transfer.

     U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, Boston-New York Division, for their efforts in the investigation, arrest, and guilty plea of Calvderia.