New York man accused of defrauding RI law firm of $163,000, converting some proceeds to Bitcoin

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A New York man has been indicted by a Rhode Island federal grand jury for alleged fraud and money laundering where he allegedly defrauded a Rhode Island law firm of over $163,200.

According to the office of Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom, Tushal Rathod, 45, is charged with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud (two counts), aggravated identity theft, money laundering conspiracy, money laundering, concealment of money laundering and engaging in transactions with proceeds of criminal activity.

Rathod is alleged to have worked with other individuals he met online to accept fraudulent proceeds and to launder the money through businesses and financial accounts.

He would then allegedly keep 10 percent of the money for himself.

This scheme was conducted using business email compromise, account takeover and counterfeit checks, according to Bloom’s office.

Along with the Rhode Island law firm, Rathod is also accused of defrauding $8 million from a California credit union.

Rathod also allegedly converted portions of the fraudulent proceeds into Bitcoin.