Police have charged three people with several counts of money-laundering and fraud-related charges in an alleged financial scheme totalling US$50 million and spanning nearly six years.
In a statement the police said that Paul Bilzerian, Terri Steffen and Gregory Gilpin-Payne were each charged with money-laundering and fraud offences committed between November 2018 and July 2024. They said that during that period the accused, together with others, are alleged to have conspired to obtain US$$50 million by false pretenses and to have subsequently laundered the money.
According to the police statement, on June 18 this year, Bilzerian was charged with money laundering by transaction, conspiracy to commit money laundering, false pretense and conspiracy to commit false pretense.
The police said that Steffen has been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, while Gilpin-Payne is facing charges of money laundering by transaction, conspiracy to commit money laundering, false pretense, conspiracy to commit false pretense.
They said that the investigations into the matter are ongoing and ‘highly commends the White Collar Crime Unit for its work in bringing this matter to this stage and reaffirms the Federation’s unwavering commitment to combatting financial crime in all its forms.
‘ St. Kitts and Nevis will not be used as a vehicle for fraud, false pretense, or the laundering of criminally obtained funds, and the Force will continue to pursue all such matters with the full force of the law,’ the police statement warned.