A Department of Defense employee has been indicted on charges related to laundering millions of dollars for overseas scammers, according to an announcement from United States Attorney David Metcalf. Samuel D. Marcus, 33, of Oreland, Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, multiple counts of illegal monetary transactions, and money laundering through illegal concealment.
The indictment states that between July 2023 and December 2025, Marcus worked as a Logistics Specialist at the Department of Defense while allegedly acting as a money mule for Nigerian-based fraudsters. These individuals used aliases such as “Rachel Jude” and “Ned McMurray.” The group is accused of running wire fraud schemes targeting U.S. victims through romance scams, cyber fraud, tax fraud, financing fraud, and business email compromise attacks. Victims reportedly lost millions of dollars.
According to prosecutors, the fraudsters directed a network of U.S.-based money mules—including Marcus—to launder proceeds from these schemes. Victims were instructed to send funds to accounts controlled by the mules. The indictment alleges that Marcus conducted rapid financial transactions under the direction of the scammers: he converted victim funds into cryptocurrency and transferred them into foreign accounts. He is also accused of depositing millions in fraudulent funds into his personal and business accounts while knowing their criminal origin.
Authorities say Marcus misled banks and law enforcement about the nature of these transactions by providing false invoices to make them appear legitimate. The indictment further claims that he continued this activity even after FBI agents informed him that his accounts were being used for stolen funds consistent with money laundering practices.
If convicted on all charges, Marcus could face up to 100 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine up to $2 million.
The investigation was led by FBI Philadelphia’s Fort Washington Resident Agency with support from Homeland Security Investigations and the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service. Assistant United States Attorney Samuel S. Dalke is prosecuting the case.
“The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court,” said officials in the announcement.
