Brian R. Cleland, 72, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments involving approximately $46.4 million, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Cleland is the third defendant in this case to plead guilty, following Bruce Jin and Carlos A. Grijalva earlier this year.
United States Attorney Brian D. Miller stated that Cleland admitted he and his co-defendants laundered state unemployment compensation funds they knew were obtained through fraud between 2021 and early 2022. The group posed as legitimate businesses selling masks and other COVID-19 personal protective equipment while laundering funds derived from fraudulent unemployment compensation benefits.
Cleland also acknowledged knowledge of bank accounts unlawfully created using stolen identities across the country, which received fraudulent unemployment claims paid out by various state treasuries, including the Pennsylvania Treasury Department. He admitted that these activities were coordinated with individuals in China.
Cleland and Grijalva provided payment processing companies with bank account information belonging to identity theft victims, allowing them to generate payments into accounts they controlled. This information was supplied by an individual in China referred to as “COCONSPIRATOR 2” in court documents.
The plea agreement revealed that over $46 million was transferred through this scheme. Cleland and Grijalva discussed using PPE sales as a cover story for their actions and used code words such as “call center” for those operating from China and “product” for their illicit activities.
Subsequently, more than $30 million was transferred to companies managed by Bruce Jin, who then sent portions of these funds onward to parties in China. Additional transfers were made to another individual named “COCONSPIRATOR 1.” Both Cleland and Grijalva personally profited by about $2.2 million each—roughly 10% of the total amount they handled.
As part of his plea deal, Cleland agreed to forfeit assets including around $46.4 million in U.S. currency, several bank accounts, and real estate properties in Hawaii and California purchased with proceeds from the offenses.
All three defendants are scheduled for sentencing in 2026.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General. Prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ravi Romel Sharma and K. Wesley Mishoe along with Trial Attorney Patrick B. Gushue from the Department of Justice’s Money Laundering & Asset Recovery Section.
The U.S. Attorney General previously established a COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force aimed at coordinating government efforts against pandemic-related fraud; further details can be found at https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
“The maximum penalty for conspiracy to launder monetary instruments is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.”
“A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.”
