LEOMINSTER, Mass. — A Leominster man has been indicted for allegedly forging a $1.3 million U.S. Treasury tax refund check and laundering the stolen money through shell companies, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Jesse El-Ghoul, 31, is accused of depositing a forged tax refund check for $1,344,863 into a business account belonging to Affordable Motor Group on March 29, 2024. Prosecutors allege that El-Ghoul owed back taxes and forged a refund check made out to a Canadian company, altering it to be payable to his own business.
Following the deposit, El-Ghoul allegedly attempted to launder the funds by purchasing four cashier’s checks in the days that followed. The checks were made out in the amounts of:
$235,280
$223,591
$202,643
$425,000
Authorities say the checks were payable to shell companies and a law firm involved in a third-party real estate transaction, suggesting an effort to obscure the money’s origin.
El-Ghoul was arrested on June 6 and formally indicted last Thursday on multiple charges, including:
Theft of government funds
Bank fraud
Four counts of money laundering
The case remains under investigation by federal authorities. If convicted, El-Ghoul faces significant prison time and financial penalties.
