TWO HUNGARIAN NATIONALS SENTENCED IN INTERNATIONAL FRAUD SCHEME

FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, March 8, 2013
Two Hungarian Nationals Sentenced in Tennessee for Roles in International Fraud Scheme Involving Online Marketplace Websites

Hungarian nationals Beatrix Boka and Aleksandar Kunkin were sentenced today to serve 36 months and 48 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in moving approximately $550,000 in illicit proceeds derived from an international online marketplace fraud scheme, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Jerry E. Martin for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Boka, 34, and Kunkin, 40, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger in the Middle District of Tennessee. In addition to their prison terms, Boka and Kunkin were each sentenced to serve two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $464,581 in restitution.

Boka and Kunkin each pleaded guilty in November 2012 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud.

According to testimony at Boka and Kunkin’s plea hearings, members of the conspiracy fraudulently listed vehicles for sale at online marketplaces such as eBay. When victims expressed interest in purchasing the vehicles, co-conspirators sent emails that directed the victims to wire payments to certain bank accounts, and victims never received the vehicles for which they paid. From May to June 2012, Boka and Kunkin visited Bank of America branches in North Carolina and South Carolina and opened bank accounts under false identities, which were supported by fraudulent identity documents including counterfeit Hungarian passports. In total, 36 victims sent approximately $550,102 to accounts opened by Boka and Kunkin. Boka and Kunkin subsequently sent the bulk of the money to co-conspirators located abroad.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron M. Jones of the Middle District of Tennessee and Trial Attorney Mysti Degani of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. The case is being investigated by the FBI, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department and the Cobb County, Ga., Sheriff’s Department.