Tri-Cities man accused of helping African scammer steal and launder $17,000+

A 22-year-old Kennewick man allegedly worked with a scammer in a Central Africa country to steal from Americans and convert the money into cryptocurrency.

The money laundering scheme involved selling merchandise through what appeared to be legitimate online businesses, but never delivering the goods after people paid.

The person in Cameroon ultimately received the profits in Bitcoin.

Dakota L. Reynolds is suspected of moving $17,500 in more than 44 transactions in less than one month.

He told Kennewick detectives that he was allowed to pocket a small percentage of the money before transferring the rest to his business partner, according to court documents.

Reynolds has been charged in Benton County Superior Court with money laundering and first-degree theft, both felonies.

He was sent a summons to appear in court Aug. 12 on the new charges.

Texas victim reported

Kennewick police first learned of the local resident’s alleged involvement in April when the department was contacted by detectives from Texas.

A man in Texas had reported buying ammunition online and paying $1,320 via the Zelle app, but said he never got his ammo.

Texas detectives got a subpoena for records connected to the online deal and discovered that Reynolds was the culprit who received the money through the banking app, court documents said.

In an interview with investigators, Reynolds admitted he had been working with a scammer from Cameroon to steal and launder money, documents said.

Reynolds alleged that the scammer handled the online sales and directed customers to send money through Zelle, with Reynolds on the receiving end.

Reynolds then converted the money into Bitcoin in the Zelle app and forwarded the cryptocurrency to his associate in Africa.

He told detectives that he would get 10% of the initial money if the customer made the payment through Zelle, but only 7.5% if it was submitted through a Bitcoin account, court documents said.

The transaction amounts varied from $100 up to $800, he claimed, and happened over just a few weeks in February.

Reynolds estimated that he made about $1,200 to $1,500 in total from the transactions, and sent between $15,000 and $20,000 via the money transfer apps to the scammer, documents said.

Kennewick detectives analyzed Reynolds’ phone to confirm his explanation of the money transfers. It was through the cell data that police put the stolen amount at $17,500.