U.S. Justice Department Files Case to Halt Fraudulent Transaction

A retired Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent, Brian Shanahan spent eight years with the New York State Office of Court Administration, where he worked in a variety of capacities. During his two decades tenure as a drug enforcement agent, Brian Shanahan had a long list of accomplishments such as overseeing investigations into domestic and international drug trafficking and money laundering organizations before retiring as a Supervisory Special Agent with the United States Department of Justice.

A U.S. citizen living in Ukraine was charged by the Justice Department on September 1, 2021, for his alleged involvement in a bank fraud operation. According to the civil complaint, the defendants made unlawful debit transactions against the bank accounts of unwary customers in the name of fictitious corporate companies. To disguise the fraudulent nature of these transactions from customers and banks, defendants reportedly created phony websites for the sham corporate organizations, a “customer care” contact center, and a fake customer authorization for services.

The defendants allegedly utilized thousands of phony “microtransactions” to avoid chargebacks on their unlawful debits, according to the lawsuit. The defendants were barred from conducting unlawful debits from customers’ bank accounts and from utilizing microtransactions to mask chargebacks, according to the temporary restraining order issued by the government. The government also had a receiver appointed to prevent defendants from dissipating assets gained via the fraud scheme.

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