Two US citizens pleaded guilty last week to their involvement in a $150 million fraud orchestrated by Allied Wallets, which deceived banks into processing payments for unregulated online gaming and other high-risk transactions.
Ahmad “Andy” Khawaja, pictured before his indictment, flight, and arrest in Lithuania on an international warrant, was once a prominent LA businessman who donated millions to Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns.
In federal court in Boston on Wednesday, Mohammad “Moe” Diab, 48, of Glendale, California, and Amy Rountree, 41, of Logan, Utah, pleaded guilty to one count each of bank fraud conspiracy. They now face up to 30 years in prison. Diab and Rountree were employees of Allied Wallets, a payment processing company headquartered in Glendale, California. The company was owned by one-time billionaire Ahmad “Andy” Khawaja, now a fugitive from justice whom US authorities are attempting to extradite from Lithuania.
Allied Wallets was involved in a fraudulent practice known as “transaction washing,” where digital transactions for illegal or high-risk merchants were disguised as legitimate payments. According to prosecutors, Allied Wallets tricked banks and credit companies into processing payments for businesses involved in debt relief, online pharmaceuticals, and payday lending. The company achieved this by creating shell companies, designing fake websites that purported to sell low-risk retail and home goods, and using industry-standard codes that miscategorized the true nature of the transaction.
Diab, Allied’s chief operating officer, and Rountree, its VP of operations, were arrested by federal agents in August 2021, along with another employee, Thomas Wells, 74, of Martin County, Florida. Wells pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy in October 2021 and is awaiting sentencing.
Khawaja was arrested in Lithuania in September 2020 on an international warrant. US officials requested that he remain in custody pending extradition proceedings, which are ongoing. According to a June 2023 report by Lithuanian news outlet LRT, Khawaja has been released on bail by Lithuanian authorities. Although he claims to have no money to repay the millions he is accused of acquiring fraudulently, he is currently staying at one of the most luxurious hotels in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.
Before his indictment and flight, Khawaja was a prominent Los Angeles businessman who donated at least $6 million to Republican and Democratic political campaigns from 2015 onwards. In 2016, he held a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential bid, illegally transferring $3.5 million to the campaign, according to prosecutors. Just weeks after the election, he met the newly elected Donald Trump, donating $1 million to his inauguration campaign.
In 2020, Khawaja claimed he was being targeted by federal authorities because he had compromising information about Trump.
