BOSTON, MA — A 75-year-old Cranston man, Craig Clayton, faces up to 20 years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines after pleading guilty to laundering $35 million through Internet-romance and elderly fraud schemes, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston.
Clayton pleaded guilty on May 8, 2024, to one count of money laundering conspiracy and one count of obstruction of justice in U.S. District Court in Boston, as confirmed by U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley on May 12.
Between 2019 and 2021, Clayton operated a “virtual CFO” business, Rochart Consulting, from his home in Cranston. The business laundered money for his foreign-based clients by setting up shell companies and opening fraudulent business accounts. Clayton would create shell companies, open multiple bank accounts for these companies, and direct victims to send funds to these accounts. The money would then be quickly transferred overseas to accounts in China, Switzerland, Austria, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, India, Ukraine, Malaysia, Poland, and Turkey.
According to court documents, the victims were typically individuals who believed they were sending money to a potential romantic partner or elderly people tricked into high-pressure business scams.
One of the shell companies Clayton set up, Providence Sanitizer, falsely marketed hand sanitizer but actually laundered at least $16.8 million in fraudulent funds.
As the investigation progressed, Clayton became aware that law enforcement was tracking his activities. He allegedly expressed concern over his phone being “tapped” and sought to obtain “dirt” on a victim who had reported the fraud scheme. In another instance, Clayton proposed moving their encrypted communications to Signal to avoid detection by authorities, fearing that WhatsApp might be monitored.
Clayton was arrested in February 2023 and charged. His sentencing is set for August 13, 2025, with the money laundering conspiracy charge carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the amount of the proceeds, whichever is greater. The obstruction of justice charge also carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
