Ohio man pleads guilty to money laundering

Date: August 21, 2024

Contact: [email protected]

Beckley, WV - Jack Paskin of Nelsonville, Ohio, pleaded guilty today to money laundering.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from in or about mid-summer 2019 to on or about Aug. 31, 2020, Paskin facilitated the shipment of wholesale quantities of marijuana to Mullens, West Virginia. Merrick admitted that the shipments were directed to addresses provided by Merrick Rice, who then obtained the marijuana packages following their delivery. Paskin further admitted that he knew Rice sold the marijuana to other individuals who then distributed it within the Southern District of West Virginia.

Proceeds from Rice's sale of the marijuana were deposited into bank accounts that Paskin individually controlled or had signatory authority over. On Feb. 24, 2021, Paskin withdrew $30,000 in cash from one of the bank accounts he knew held proceeds from Rice's marijuana sales. Paskin admitted that he knew that the $30,000 and the other deposited funds represented proceeds from illegal drug sales in the Southern District of West Virginia.

Paskin is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 13, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

Rice of Mullens, and Miranda Aliff of Rock Creek, both pleaded guilty on May 7, 2024, to structuring transactions with one or more domestic financial institutions. Rice and Aliff admitted to structuring bank deposits of the illicit drug proceeds totaling $228,000 to evade currency transaction reporting requirements, and await sentencing.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS CI), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

United States Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan T. Storage is prosecuting the case.

CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a more than a 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad.