NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment on Wednesday charging a man from the city with operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, according to a release on Friday from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
William McNeilly, 55, was arrested on Thursday, prosecutors said. He appeared before a judge, pleaded not guilty and was released on a $50,000 bond.
Prosecutors allege that McNeilly owned and operated Global Income Marketplace LLC, or GIM, from a storefront in West Haven. GIM was engaged in “website builders programming tech computer repairs and upgrades,” according to its Connecticut state registration.
McNeilly, and another individual, also operated Global NuMedia LLC, or GNM, a limited liability company registered in Delaware, prosecutors said. McNeilly never obtained a license from the Connecticut Department of Banking to engage in the money transmission business, yet he opened several bank accounts in the names of GIM and GNM according to the indictment.
Prosecutors said McNeilly also opened a cryptocurrency exchange account in the name of GNM and used the accounts to operate a business by exchanging customers’ cash, checks, and money orders for cryptocurrency. He allegedly charged a fee for the service.
Furthermore, prosecutors said that between July 2019 and June 2022, McNeilly exchanged over $1 million in U.S. currency for cryptocurrency on behalf of customers throughout the U.S, knowing that some of the funds involved in the illegal business came from fraud schemes.
The investigation discovered that cashiers’ checks from victims of romance fraud schemes were mailed to GIM and deposited in GIM accounts, according to prosecutors. In February 2021, McNeilly was contacted by TD Bank and told that a $10,000 wire transfer to GNM was reported as fraudulent and that he needed a license to operate a money transmission business, prosecutors said.
Even after receiving the warning, and after TD Bank closed the GIM and GNM accounts, McNeilly continued operating his money transmission business through other GIM and GNM bank accounts, prosecutors said.
In the indictment, McNeilly is charged with one count of unlicensed money-transmitting business, which carries a maximum term of five years imprisonment. He also faces three counts of making illegal money transactions, which carries a maximum jail sentence of 10 years per count.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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