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Christopher Vandermark, age 57, formerly of Gansevoort in Saratoga County, pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy in federal court in Albany on Tuesday, June 28.
Federal prosecutors said Vandermark spent more than a year texting a North Carolina woman who directed him to open multiple bank accounts and give her the associated routing numbers.
Between June 2020 and April 2021, the woman transferred more than $88,000 in illegally obtained benefits from six states into Vandermark’s accounts, according to US Attorney Carla Freedman.
Vandermark then used that money to buy hundreds of gift cards at various retail stores and would send the woman photos of the cards’ identification numbers, prosecutors said.
Once she had the ID numbers, the woman would then sell the gift cards online to conceal the original source of the funds, according to prosecutors.
Vandermark admitted to receiving numerous warnings from banks that his actions were considered fraud, but continued the scheme anyway despite getting a visit from federal law enforcement agents and a state investigator in April 2021.
They questioned him over approximately $37,000 in fraudulent benefits that had been transferred to his bank account, prosecutors said. But Vandermark denied owning the account or receiving the funds.
He continued the scheme into the summer of 2021, opening up another bank account and receiving an additional $13,000 in benefits from three states that he used to buy more gift cards, according to prosecutors.
Vandermark eventually came clean, admitting responsibility for more than $13,000 in benefits that were laundered through his accounts after his initial interview with police. He also agreed to pay restitution to the affected states.
He now faces up to 20 years in prison and could be fined up to $500,000. Sentencing is set for Thursday, Oct. 27.
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