March 30, 2011, 2:02 PM ET

http://blogs.wsj.com/corruption-currents/2011/03/30/italian-nationals-plead-guilty-to-international-money-laundering/

Two Italian nationals pleaded guilty Monday in Rhode Island to using false passports to open bank accounts and wire withdrawals around the world.

Guido Rotondo, 50, and Angelo Papocchia, 44, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith to charges of possession of false passports and money laundering. Sentencing is scheduled for July 28, and they face a maximum of 30 years in prison, as well as $750,000 in fines.

According to court documents cited in the press release, Rotondo and Papocchia were couriers in a Web-based scheme to get people to buy cars online using advertisements for vehicles at attractive prices. Buyers were asked to put their money into bank accounts opened by those running the scheme with assumed identities.

People looking to buy the vehicles were directed to deposit money in those accounts. Despite being told the funds would be held until delivery of the autos, Rotondo and Papocchia withdrew the money and wired it to Europe, keeping a portion for themselves. The buyers never received their vehicle purchases, the statement said.

At the time of their arrest, investigators seized several fraudulent passports, bank slips, Western Union money transfer receipts and slips of paper containing the names of customers, makes of cars such as an Audi A8 and Jaguar XK, as well as the purported sale prices.