Financial Crime World

Romanian Couple’s Stolen Profits: $1.2 Million Headed Home

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Thursday, March 26, 2020, that over $1.2 million in confiscated funds from an extensive tax fraud and money laundering case will be repatriated to the Romanian government.

The Stolen Funds

The funds, derived from the sale of property in Washington state, were owned by a Romanian duo, Radu and Diana Nemes. They were extradited back to their home country late in 2014.

According to documents obtained from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Romanian authorities approached the United States to apprehend the Nemeses in 2012, accusing them of:

  1. Tax evasion
  2. Collaborating with an organized criminal group

The allegations detailed that the couple masterminded a scam to dodge Romanian taxes on imported diesel fuel by:

  1. Mislabeling the fuel as a lower-grade industrial and maritime product
  2. Laundering the untaxed proceeds from the sale of the premium diesel through a series of Romanian bank accounts and shell companies under the Nemeses’ control

Arrest and Extradition

Arrest warrants for the couple were issued in Romania in July 2012. Before those warrants, the Nemeses had moved from Romania and taken up residence on a sprawling property near Yelm, Washington. Complete with an intricate bunker system, the secluded property went undetected until their arrests in the United States.

Following their apprehension in this country, the couple waived extradition and agreed to be returned to Romania.

Asset Seizure and Restitution

The court-ordered transfer of their U.S. assets included a number of Yelm properties, which were sold to cover the costs incurred during the forfeiture process. The proceeds of the sale, $1,225,465, are to be returned to the Romanian government through a petition for remission as restitution for the tax fraud.

Key Players

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jehiel Baer of the Western District of Washington is spearheading the case, working in conjunction with the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division Office of International Affairs (OIA) and the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS).