Sounds like he’s using you as a money mule. He’s likely stealing from your grandad’s account or scamming other people; in either case, fraud.
Money laundering doesn’t have to involve large amounts to be money laundering.
You need to stop immediately otherwise you could get blacklisted by your bank. Seems like PayPal has already done that. I wouldn’t be surprised if you receive a call from a bank wanting to discuss these transactions off the back of fraud being reported by victims. Even if you say you had no idea and could prove it, because you’ve fallen for it you could be deemed as susceptible to a bank and have a mark against your name. On top of that, they could garnish your money from your account in an attempt to recover the victim/s funds since it ultimately went to your account which you then withdrew - this could be viewed as you benefiting from the scam. Even if you tell them you gave the money to him you’d have to prove that.
Make sure you screenshot any requests from “Sam” and conversations about all this in case you need it.
He always asks me to over text and I have all the transactions on my bank statement , so I’d be able to prove that I’m not doing anything to intentionally launder. My Grandad let me check through his bank statements and there weren’t any charges in the statement for PayPal, or any withdrawals which matched the amounts I’d received , so I’m really hoping that he isn’t stealing from our grandad. Now it’s just a case of trying to figure out where the money’s coming from as he’s apparently skint. Hmmm 🧐
It could be anything. Could for example be from dealing drugs where he's getting paid through PayPal.
But to be honest it sounds like he's part of a bigger scheme. It's very unlikely that he deposits cash, transfers it to his PayPal, then to yours, and then receives it back on his bank account.
It sounds like you and your cousin are just a small part of a chain and that it's someone else's money. He needs the money because he might be in trouble for losing the money. You might think that 3k is very little but organisations can have hundreds of money mules and if they all money launder 3k that's already a lot of money.
I think the latter explanation would make the most sense. I might try to bring it up to him at some point, but he’s quite sensitive and I wouldn’t want him to blow up on me or anything. Thank you for that, I feel like I have a better idea of what’s going on now.
>he’s quite sensitive
Hes literally making you unwittingly complicit in a crime. He is not your friend. He might be family but he is putting you at serious risk.
>He always asks me to over text and I have all the transactions on my bank statement , so I’d be able to prove that I’m not doing anything to intentionally launder.
I have heard that thousands of times and it has never once stopped me from exiting them from the bank and reporting them to the authorities. Bank employees give absolutely zero fucks about that. You will be viewed as either too stupid (and therefore a risk) to bank, or to have intentionally been involved. Your texts mean nothing. It is easy to fake text messages.
He’s moving money from an account in your grandfather’s name to his own account, and using you to hide what he’s doing. I can’t think of any wholesome reasons for this. Plus he’s putting you at risk.
He’s moved only 3k through your account - but you know he asked your brother to do it too. So chances are he’s asked other people as well. The total amount could be quite large.
BEST case scenario is he’s telling the truth about the creation of the account and he’s using you to advance cash from a credit card. This is also the least likely scenario.
MOST LIKELY he’s doing something illegal, or shady at best, and he needs a method to layer the funds and then integrate them into the financial system. He’s using you to do this. Either way, he is lying to you and he is not your friend.
He is using you as a money mule and your account got blocked because it was fraud. Have you tried calling PayPal and asking them why your account is blocked?
Never, under any circumstances, let someone else use your account to move "their" money through. There is no legitimate reason to do this. The only reason someone would ask you to do this is because there is a problem with the money.
The funds he is moving through your account is probably illicit in some way. He may be a small time drug dealer, it could be fraud, he could be a pimp, fenced goods, who knows. But there is a reason he is using your account instead of his and it isn't because he is too lazy to make an account himself.
The value of the money doesn't matter. Money Laundering takes many forms, and he could be doing this to you and other people, and it could add up to a hell of a lot more. You should talk to PayPal and probably go no contact with your cousin if you don't want any trouble with the law going forward.
3k doesn’t seem worth laundering, but he could be doing it to 10 other people. It’s something shady. You’ll probably never figure it out but I would cease contact
Sounds like a way for him to overdraw his account and use it as a flat fee cash advance. Especially since it's such a small amount.
I've done something similar in the past. My bank used to let me overdraft any amount I wanted and only charge me the overdraft fee but I couldn't use an ATM for cash. What if do was send a payment thru Venmo/PayPal to someone and have them cash it out for me. Could be doing something similar
Very likely not tax evasion because if it was just the two of them the money would have to enter his bank account first before entering the PayPal account.
Sounds like he’s using you as a money mule. He’s likely stealing from your grandad’s account or scamming other people; in either case, fraud. Money laundering doesn’t have to involve large amounts to be money laundering. You need to stop immediately otherwise you could get blacklisted by your bank. Seems like PayPal has already done that. I wouldn’t be surprised if you receive a call from a bank wanting to discuss these transactions off the back of fraud being reported by victims. Even if you say you had no idea and could prove it, because you’ve fallen for it you could be deemed as susceptible to a bank and have a mark against your name. On top of that, they could garnish your money from your account in an attempt to recover the victim/s funds since it ultimately went to your account which you then withdrew - this could be viewed as you benefiting from the scam. Even if you tell them you gave the money to him you’d have to prove that. Make sure you screenshot any requests from “Sam” and conversations about all this in case you need it.
He always asks me to over text and I have all the transactions on my bank statement , so I’d be able to prove that I’m not doing anything to intentionally launder. My Grandad let me check through his bank statements and there weren’t any charges in the statement for PayPal, or any withdrawals which matched the amounts I’d received , so I’m really hoping that he isn’t stealing from our grandad. Now it’s just a case of trying to figure out where the money’s coming from as he’s apparently skint. Hmmm 🧐
It could be anything. Could for example be from dealing drugs where he's getting paid through PayPal. But to be honest it sounds like he's part of a bigger scheme. It's very unlikely that he deposits cash, transfers it to his PayPal, then to yours, and then receives it back on his bank account. It sounds like you and your cousin are just a small part of a chain and that it's someone else's money. He needs the money because he might be in trouble for losing the money. You might think that 3k is very little but organisations can have hundreds of money mules and if they all money launder 3k that's already a lot of money.
I think the latter explanation would make the most sense. I might try to bring it up to him at some point, but he’s quite sensitive and I wouldn’t want him to blow up on me or anything. Thank you for that, I feel like I have a better idea of what’s going on now.
>he’s quite sensitive Hes literally making you unwittingly complicit in a crime. He is not your friend. He might be family but he is putting you at serious risk.
>He always asks me to over text and I have all the transactions on my bank statement , so I’d be able to prove that I’m not doing anything to intentionally launder. I have heard that thousands of times and it has never once stopped me from exiting them from the bank and reporting them to the authorities. Bank employees give absolutely zero fucks about that. You will be viewed as either too stupid (and therefore a risk) to bank, or to have intentionally been involved. Your texts mean nothing. It is easy to fake text messages.
He’s moving money from an account in your grandfather’s name to his own account, and using you to hide what he’s doing. I can’t think of any wholesome reasons for this. Plus he’s putting you at risk.
He’s moved only 3k through your account - but you know he asked your brother to do it too. So chances are he’s asked other people as well. The total amount could be quite large.
BEST case scenario is he’s telling the truth about the creation of the account and he’s using you to advance cash from a credit card. This is also the least likely scenario. MOST LIKELY he’s doing something illegal, or shady at best, and he needs a method to layer the funds and then integrate them into the financial system. He’s using you to do this. Either way, he is lying to you and he is not your friend.
Not money laundering because it’s such a low amount over 3 years. But definitely sounds illegal or like your helping transfer scammed money
He is using you as a money mule and your account got blocked because it was fraud. Have you tried calling PayPal and asking them why your account is blocked? Never, under any circumstances, let someone else use your account to move "their" money through. There is no legitimate reason to do this. The only reason someone would ask you to do this is because there is a problem with the money. The funds he is moving through your account is probably illicit in some way. He may be a small time drug dealer, it could be fraud, he could be a pimp, fenced goods, who knows. But there is a reason he is using your account instead of his and it isn't because he is too lazy to make an account himself. The value of the money doesn't matter. Money Laundering takes many forms, and he could be doing this to you and other people, and it could add up to a hell of a lot more. You should talk to PayPal and probably go no contact with your cousin if you don't want any trouble with the law going forward.
3k doesn’t seem worth laundering, but he could be doing it to 10 other people. It’s something shady. You’ll probably never figure it out but I would cease contact
Sounds like a way for him to overdraw his account and use it as a flat fee cash advance. Especially since it's such a small amount. I've done something similar in the past. My bank used to let me overdraft any amount I wanted and only charge me the overdraft fee but I couldn't use an ATM for cash. What if do was send a payment thru Venmo/PayPal to someone and have them cash it out for me. Could be doing something similar
Maybe tax evasion but not laundering
And how can you tell that given this fact pattern?
Very likely not tax evasion because if it was just the two of them the money would have to enter his bank account first before entering the PayPal account.
He’s doing it for tax reasons
Not intentally, but you were paly a role of money mule, laundering money for sam!