Talk about some dirty diamonds.
A descendant of the Cartier jewelry dynasty was sentenced to eight years in federal prison after confessing to running an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange that laundered more than $470 million in drug trafficking proceeds.
Maximilien de Hoop Cartier, a resident of France who moonlights as a singer under the name “Max Cartier,” was sentenced in Manhattan federal court Tuesday after pleading guilty in October to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
Cartier, 58, funneled the money through a web of US shell companies disguised as fake software and tech firms — with names like Bullpix Solutions, Softmill LLC and VC Innovated — before routing it to Colombia, prosecutors said.
The companies existed solely to receive and transmit international drug money, converting narcos’ cryptocurrency into hard currency.
To fool banks, Cartier used forged contracts and invoices making it appear the firms were doing legitimate tech work. He deliberately broke transactions into chunks to avoid bank scrutiny.
The scheme, dubbed the “Cartier Cell” by feds, dates back to at least 2018.
The jewelry heir told an undercover FBI agent he considered a New York City hotel his second home, where he handled his crypto clients, lawyers and banks.
In 2021, DEA agents seized nearly $940,000 from his accounts after funneling drug proceeds into them through an undercover operation.
Cartier then walked into the US Attorney’s office in Pennsylvania with forged business records and talked prosecutors into returning a portion of the money before agents built the case that ultimately put him away.
Cartier, a French resident and Argentine citizen, was ordered to pay $2,362,160 in forfeiture — his cut of the laundering operation — and forfeit several shell company bank accounts.
US Attorney John Clayton said that the Cartier “exploited his knowledge of US and international financial systems to launder drug money and other crime proceeds.”
Cartier’s social media advertises his music career, including his new single, “Somos Novios.”
An apparently photoshopped post from February 19, 2024, depicts Cartier sitting down with CNN for an interview; however, web searches yield no results.
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