Grand Jury Returns Indictment Charging Two with Money Laundering

PITTSBURGH – One Beaver County resident and one Allegheny County resident have each been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of money laundering, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.

The one-count indictments, returned on July 25, named Nathanael Nyamekye, 34, of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and Ismail Shitu, 35, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as defendants.

According to the indictments, on or about June 29, 2016, Shitu caused Citizens Bank to reissue a $48,000 official bank check which Nyamekye deposited into his Huntington Bank account, both knowing that the funds were derived from a criminal offense, when in fact the funds were derived from a wire fraud scheme.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than 10 years in prison, a fine of not more than $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Charles A. Eberle is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Pittsburgh Field Office and Baltimore Cyber Task Force, with the assistance U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Chippewa Police and Aliquippa Police, conducted the investigation leading to the indictments in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.