Rhode Island business owner sentenced for laundering over $35 million

BOSTON, Mass. (WLNE) — A Rhode Island business owner was sentenced on Sept. 16 for laundering over $35 million in proceeds from internet fraud schemes, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

75-year-old Craig Clayton, of Cranston, was sentenced to four years in prison, followed by three years of supervised released, and ordered to pay $40,000 in restitution.

Between 2019 and 2021, the USAO said Clayton used his accounting and “virtual CFO business,” Rochart Consulting, as a front to launder over $35 million through the use of shell companies and fraudulent bank accounts in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

During an investigation into Rochart, the USAO said the defendant falsely told investigators that his shell companies were “legitimate businesses,” and told an undercover cop that his business does not “deal with anyone who has law enforcement connections” and that a number of his business’s clients were “fugitives from justice.”

Additionally, the USAO said Clayton “attempted to obstruct the ongoing investigating by making several false statements” to federal agents.

In February of 2023, Clayton was arrested and charged.

Clayton pled guilty to money laundering conspiracy and obstruction of justice in May 2025.