NEWARK – A Lakewood man was sentenced to two years in federal prison for laundering money from a $1 million financial fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.

U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton on Thursday sentenced Eli Schamovic, 43, to prison and ordered him to pay $1.68 million in restitution, Sellinger said.

Schamovic pleaded guilty to money laundering charges before Wigenton in May, Sellinger said.

According to documents and testimony filed in court, Schamovic made or caused others to make numerous fraudulent financial transactions through at least two entities that Schamovic founded as a merchant using multiple credit card processing companies. The transactions caused a multinational financial services company specializing in payment cards to incur losses of more than $1 million. Schamovic laundered some of the proceeds of the scheme, including wire transfers of approximately $500,000 from a bank account he controlled, records show.

Schamovic’s attorney, Lee Vartan, said his client has already repaid hundreds of thousands of dollars with the support of his community.

“Mr. Schamovic, supported by dozens of friends and family, told the Court that he realized his mistake even before the government began investigating and worked tirelessly to repay American Express,” Vartan told the Asbury Park Press.

“The court commended Mr. Schamovic for his efforts, describing him as a good man loved by his community, and sentenced him to a lower sentence than required under sentencing guidelines,” Vartan said. “Schamovic is grateful to the hundreds of people who supported him during these difficult times.”

The penalty for money laundering is a maximum of 10 years in prison.

Wigenton also sentenced Schamovic to three years of probation after his release from prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kogan of the U.S. Attorney’s Cyber ​​Crimes Unit in Newark prosecuted the case.

A reporter in New Jersey since 1985, Kathleen Hopkins covers crimes, trials, legal matters and nearly every major murder case affecting Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact him at [email protected].

This article was first published in the Asbury Park Press: Federal judge sends Lakewood man to prison on money laundering charges