A nine count grand jury indictment against Palm Beach County School Board member Mike Murgio, his son Anthony Murgio and two other men was unsealed Friday.
It alleges that the foursome conducted an illegal money laundering business that was made possible by a complex bribery scheme.
Michael Murgio was arrested at his home by FBI agents Thursday morning around 7. An arraignment is scheduled for later this month in New York.
Anthony Murgio and co-defendant Yuri Lebedev were arrested last year.
The indictment, filed in the United States Southern District of New York, claims that the men ran an illegal bitcoin exchange that laundered money for operators of ransomware schemes.
Ransomware is a type of malware that restricts access to an infected computer system in some way and demands that the user pay a ransom to the malware operators to remove the restriction.
According to the indictment, the men ran various websites that purported to be exchange clubs for collectibles enthusiasts, but were in fact disguised bitcoin exchanges. The service, Coin.mx, is alleged to have exchanged millions of dollars for bitcoins to customers from late October 2013 through July 2015.
In the related alleged bribery scheme, the indictment says that the defendants acquired control of HOPE FCU, a credit union in New Jersey. Defendant Trevon Gross, who was the chairman of the board of HOPE FCU, allowed the Murgios and Yuri Lebedev to take control of HOPE FCU as board members in exchange for bribes, the indictment alledges.
The nine counts against the men are: Conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business; operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business; conspiracy to make corrupt payments with intent to influence an officer of a financial institution; making corrupt payments with intent to influence an officer of a financial institution; receiving corrupt payments as an officer of a financial institution with intent to be influenced; conspiracy to commit wire fraud; wire fraud; conspiracy to commit money laundering; and money laundering.
Read the full indictment below.
