Samuel D. Marcus, a 33-year-old former Defense Logistics Agency employee, is charged with money laundering and illegal monetary transactions in connection with a scheme that funneled millions of dollars to Nigeria-based scammers, according to federal prosecutors. (Stars and Stripes)
A former Defense Department civilian employee from Pennsylvania is under indictment in connection with a scheme to funnel stolen money to scammers in Nigeria, according to federal prosecutors.
Samuel D. Marcus, 33, is charged with one count each of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering as well as six counts of illegal monetary transactions, the Justice Department said in a statement Monday.
Marcus worked as a logistics specialist for the Defense Logistics Agency. His LinkedIn profile says he started working for the agency in Philadelphia in 2019, the same year he graduated from Temple University.
The crimes he is accused of committing took place between July 2023 until December 2025, the statement said.
He was among a group of “money mules” who prosecutors say helped move funds stolen from U.S. victims through romance scams, tax fraud and other schemes.
Marcus kept in regular contact with the Nigerian scammers, who instructed him to convert victims’ money deposited into his accounts into cryptocurrency and then transfer it into foreign accounts, according to the indictment.
The scammers operated under aliases like “Rachel Jude” and “Ned McMurray,” the indictment said.
Marcus was “fully aware” that the people behind those names were fraudsters, the statement said.
In some cases, he is said to have sent fake invoices to banks and lied to financial institutions and authorities to hide the illegal transfers.
FBI agents had warned him that the money was stolen and that his transfers appeared to be part of a laundering scheme, but he took part in it anyway, according to authorities.
If convicted on all charges, Marcus faces up to 100 years in prison, the indictment states.
