French National Sentenced To Eight Years In Prison For Laundering Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars Using Shell Companies And Crypto Accounts

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Washington, D.C., Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), Cynthia Hearn, and Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), James C. Barnacle, Jr., announced today that MAXIMILIEN DE HOOP CARTIER was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in a sophisticated international money laundering network that laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit proceeds, including the proceeds of drug trafficking, through the United States. CARTIER was sentenced today before U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil. On October 23, 2025, CARTIER pled guilty to one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. “Maximilien de Hoop Cartier exploited his knowledge of U.S. and international financial systems to launder drug money and other crime proceeds,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “De Hoop Cartier created a network of shell companies and crypto accounts to wash and conceal criminal proceeds. He used that network to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars from the United States to overseas criminal organizations, fueling their continued illicit operations. Stopping money laundering stops crime more broadly. This federal prison sentence sends a clear message that those who launder criminal proceeds will face serious consequences.” “Today’s announcement demonstrates IRS Criminal Investigation’s commitment to disrupting the illicit flow of money that enables narcotics traffickers to illegally launder millions in illicit drug money,” said IRS-CI Acting Special Agent in Charge Cynthia Hearn. “Our Global Illicit Financial Team is proud to have provided its financial expertise in this investigation. CI and our law enforcement partners are committed to aggressively investigating individuals who engage in money laundering and other financial crimes.” “Maximilien de Hoop Cartier exploited U.S. companies and banks to launder hundreds of millions of dollars in support of international criminal enterprises,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners on the New York Homeland Security Task Force remain determined to stopping illegal cash flow into foreign countries.” According to charging documents and other filings and statements made in court: Since at least 2018 through the date of the defendant’s arrest, CARTIER, a descendant of the Cartier family known for luxury jewelry, ran an unlicensed money transmitting business that operated an over-the-counter (“OTC”) cryptocurrency exchange to buy and sell cryptocurrency on behalf of his clients. This operation played a key role in a sophisticated international money laundering network that exploited the U.S. financial system to launder hundreds of millions of dollars in criminal proceeds through the United States to Colombia, among other countries. CARTIER’s OTC cryptocurrency exchange consisted of a large network of U.S.-based shell companies that CARTIER operated and controlled for the sole purpose of converting cryptocurrency into hard currency. CARTIER opened more than a dozen accounts at U.S. banks, lying to the banks about the nature of his businesses and the purposes of the bank accounts. CARTIER fraudulently claimed the businesses operated in the software publishing and software development industries, when in fact they existed for the sole purpose of receiving and transmitting drug money and other crime proceeds. CARTIER used forged contracts, invoices, and other business records to make it appear to banks that the funds related to legitimate business rather than crime. CARTIER received drug money in the form of cryptocurrency, converted that cryptocurrency into hard currency, deposited it into shell company accounts that CARTIER opened and controlled, and