On August 19, 2020, in the Middle District of Florida, Nicholas Pellegrino was sentenced for conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role in an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) impersonation scam. Pellegrino pled guilty to the offense in February 2020.

According to the court documents, between approximately June 2015 through August 2015, Pellegrino and his coconspirators engaged in a telephone impersonation scam to obtain money from victims by falsely and fraudulently representing themselves as IRS officers. During the calls, Pellegrino and his coconspirators threatened victims with arrest and prosecution for purported tax violations unless they immediately paid the alleged fines or fees, via wire transmitter services. Then, Pellegrino and his coconspirators deposited the fraud proceeds into third-party bank accounts or returned cash proceeds to other conspirators.

Pellegrino was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment, three years' of supervised release, ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $239,765.75, and a special assessment fee of $100.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: M.D. Fla., Judg., filed August 19, 2020, M.D. Fla., Plea Agr., filed February 27, 2020, and M.D. Fla., Indict., filed August 7, 2019.