Indian-origin man who wrote a motivational book sentenced in Texas for money laundering
An Indian-origin accountant who even has a motivational book published under his name has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for money laundering and bank fraud that undermined the Paycheck Protection Program of the US government. 47-year-old Arun Mago laundered $150,000 in cash between October 2023 and July 2024, knowing well that the money was proceeds of cocaine distribution. The investigation revealed that he also engaged in repeated loan fraud during the Covid-19 pandemic. “From about April 4 to Nov. 23, 2021, Mago applied for and received several fraudulent PPP loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) for several business entities totaling nearly $1 million. In addition to the imprisonment, US District Judge Robert Pitman ordered Mago to pay over $900,000 in restitution and a $250,000 fine.
Bank records revealed that Mago transferred the funds into his personal bank account and used them for multiple real estate purchases,” the court documents revealed.
Special Agent in charge Christopher J Altemus Jr, of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Texas Field Office, said that in his book Mago named a chapter ‘Black Money’ and claimed that money laundering and tax evasion schemes were unraceable. “I can only imagine his shock when we traced his more than $900,000 of COVID loan fraud and also got him on money laundering charges in an undercover operation,” he said.