A New Hampshire man was arrested by federal and state authorities for his alleged connection to a plot to launder thousands of dollars from former Texas state employees' retirement plans.
The Department of Justice said Lukman Shina Aminu, 34, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The Department of Justice said the scheme that affected Texas State employees was one part of multiple fraudulent schemes. According to a federal complaint that was unsealed in Austin Thursday, the document alleges that beginning in June 2017, identifiable information for state employees was used to make changes to their accounts in the retirement system. Their bank information was also changed, and their retirement payments were rerouted to a debit card Aminu controlled, the complaint said.
The complaint alleges that Aminu used the debit card for cash withdrawals and money orders. He then allegedly used the money for personal expenses and to purchase used vehicles to ship to Nigeria and Benin for resale. The complaint said that multiple victims personal information was used in schemes connected to other debit cards.
Aminu is in federal custody awaiting a hearing in New Hampshire. Afterward, he is expected to be transferred to the Austin Division of the Western District of Texas.
If convicted, Aminu faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
