LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Two Lexington men were sentenced on Monday for their involvement in a money laundering conspiracy case, according to the United States Attorney's Office.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says that 34-year-old Hussein Qasim was sentenced to 57 months, and 29-year-old Ibrahim Qasim was sentenced to 45 months by U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell. Both were ordered to pay $3,274,690 in restitution.
According to officials, the Qasims' co-conspirators, who lived outside the U.S., "targeted luxury car dealerships by email and phone calls in which they impersonated real dealership employees."
Officials say that the "co-conspirators would deceive the luxury car dealerships into purchasing expensive vehicles they did not own and would not deliver."
As a result, officials say the victims would send payments to specific bank accounts opened by the Qasims, who would then collect the money and transfer it through a "sophisticated web of financial transactions."
According to officials, the money then ended up in accounts and was used to pay the co-conspirators outside the U.S.
The U.S. Attorney's Office reports that between "June 2022 and December 2023, the Qasims were responsible for laundering over $6 million sent from at least seven dealerships across the U.S."
According to officials, under federal law, "the Qasims must serve 85 percent of their prison sentences." After their release from prison, they will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years.
The U.S. Secret Service conducted this investigation.
