MIAMI – A Miami Beach Resident has been charged following an ongoing federal inquiry into the cryptocurrency ATM business he established, which law enforcement believes made money from scammers.
The U.S. Secret Service’s task force on cyber crime and money laundering looked into Sonny MerabanS and his company: SolutionsOperating as Bitcoin Of AmericaBOA, or. Miami-Dade Police officers apprehended him on Wednesday and federal agents conducted a search of his home in Miami Beach.
Prosecutors in Ohio claim the accused, along with his co-defendants, were indicted in Illinois. These included his father Reza Mehraban75, and William Suriano69-year-old, who acted as Meraban’s lawyer and company manager. They are accused of operating cryptocurrency kiosks illegally since 2002.
Prosecutors allege that the kiosks were run without a money transmission license, and the trio falsely represented their capabilities to regulators in a bid to avoid being detected, while making a profit from transfers made by scam victims – even after being warned.
Ohio’s Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley made a statement on Thursday that the suspects had been indicted by a grand jury. O’Malley said the operation had fraudulently transferred more than $50 million over a two-year period and had hurt hundreds of people in Ohio and other states.
The United States Secret Service, along with 28 other agencies, has recently arrested Florida resident Phillip Meraban for his involvement with a cryptocurrency ATM company.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle released a statement, commending the Secret Service for their hard work during the investigation. The FBI, U.S. Customs, U.S. Treasury, Federal Trade Commission, and South Florida CyberCrimes Task Force were among the other agencies involved.
Meraban was apprehended by Miami-Dade Corrections and is currently being extradited to Ohio’s Cuyahoga County. Standing at 6’5″ and weighing in at 260 pounds, it is noted that he was transferred to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Thursday afternoon.
Currently, Meraban is facing charges related to engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, conspiracy, money laundering, receiving stolen property, license requirement violations, tampering with records, possessing criminal tools, and taxation.
