Sentencing of Beaufort Captive Manager for Money Laundering
A captive manager based in Beaufort, South Carolina, has been sentenced to nine months in federal prison for his involvement in a scheme that aimed to transfer $3 million with the intention of obstructing a lawful seizure of those funds. Peter J. Strauss, who is the founder of Strauss Law Firm LLC and also the founder and CEO of Hamilton Captive Management, located in Hilton Head, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to charges related to the removal of property to prevent seizure.
U.S. District Judge Richard M. Gergel announced the sentence, which includes a nine-month prison term followed by two years of supervised release, as stated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina on Friday. In conjunction with his plea agreement, Mr. Strauss also committed to paying $2.7 million in restitution linked to an alleged money laundering operation.
According to evidence collected during the investigation, Mr. Strauss was found to have directed and aided in the transfer of $3 million on behalf of Jeff and Paulette Carpoff, subsequent to federal search and seizure warrants being executed in California. It was reported that Mr. Strauss facilitated the movement of funds from an account located in the Bahamas into his own trust account, ultimately combining these funds for personal use.
Jeff and Paulette Carpoff, the individuals associated with this case, were earlier convicted and sentenced to prison for their involvement in the investment fraud and money laundering scheme, with their sentences being handed down in 2020 and 2022, respectively, by the Eastern District of California. The couple previously owned and managed DC Solar Solutions Inc. and DC Solar Distribution Inc., both of which were solar power companies based in Benicia, California, that were seized by the FBI in 2018.
