U.S. authorities said the case centers on a fraud scheme that laundered funds stolen from a Minnesota nonprofit victimized in a business email compromise, totaling at least $2.3 million. The investigation identified cryptocurrency activity, including deposits at crypto kiosks totaling $162,730 in Bitcoin and transfers to a Coinbase account as part of the laundering. Linda Winder, an Athens, Tennessee resident, has been implicated in a federal forfeiture warrant as a money mule.
Affidavits describe how a romance scam partner coaxed Winder to move funds, leading her to open cryptocurrency exchange accounts and convert funds into cryptocurrency. Authorities say between 2021 and 2023 Winder laundered no less than $2.3 million, forwarding the money to cryptocurrency accounts or exchanges and occasionally sending funds to other institutions or individuals. Winder acknowledged she had transacted hundreds of thousands of dollars through her Wells Fargo Bank account on Milano’s behalf, authorities said.
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