A Brooklyn banker was sentenced to 18 months in prison after admitting he helped funnel more than $8 million in proceeds from a sprawling healthcare fraud scheme through a U.S. bank, working on behalf of a transnational criminal organization.
Renat Abramov, 37, was sentenced after pleading guilty to conspiring to launder funds tied to fraudulent healthcare claims. The case centers on his role at a branch in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of Brooklyn, where prosecutors say he used his position to benefit a foreign-based criminal network.
As a relationship manager at the bank, Abramov allegedly provided tailored banking services that helped hide the origins of illicit funds. Investigators say he opened accounts for nominee owners of medical equipment companies, which became conduits for the illicit cash.
“The Fraud Division is committed to holding accountable anyone who abuses the U.S. financial system to facilitate fraud,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “This sentence makes one thing clear: anyone who helps fraudsters conceal the proceeds of their crimes can expect to face serious consequences. American taxpayers will be protected from those who try to launder criminal proceeds through our banking system.”
The transnational criminal organization involved in the scheme operated from Russia and other locations and allegedly ran a multi-billion-dollar fraud effort aimed at Medicare and private insurers. The criminal network reportedly submitted fraudulent claims for durable medical equipment through dozens of shell or nominee-owned companies to extract funds from federal and private healthcare programs.
Many of the medical equipment firms were set up on paper with nominee owners who were not lawfully present in the United States, concealing the true beneficial owners who controlled the operation abroad. That arrangement allowed the group to process and move large sums while creating layers of apparent legitimacy around the businesses receiving and transferring funds.
Prosecutors describe Abramov as a concierge banker for scheme participants, someone who smoothed transactions and provided inside knowledge of account activity. More than $8 million in healthcare fraud proceeds were deposited into accounts Abramov helped establish and manage, and those funds were later moved offshore.
Abramov also assisted with wire transfers and supplied information about the status of accounts to those using the nominee structures, according to charging papers. His cooperation with account openings and transaction routing played a direct role in converting fraudulent claims into accessible funds for the organization.
In February 2026, Abramov pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, acknowledging his participation in the effort to disguise and move criminal proceeds. The investigation included work by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the FBI, with Homeland Security Investigations in New York helping to effect the arrest.
Assistant Chiefs Shankar Ramamurthy and Kevin Lowell, Acting Assistant Chief Sara E. Porter, and Trial Attorney Leonid Sandlar of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section handled the prosecution. Their involvement underscores a broader push by federal authorities to target those who enable large-scale schemes that defraud government benefit programs and insurers.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division, a unit focused on tackling fraud against the American people. That effort is tied to a wider government push to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse in federal benefit programs, including initiatives coordinated with the White House and other agencies.
The Department’s Healthcare Fraud Strike Force program, operating in multiple federal districts, has charged thousands of defendants over the last decade and a half for schemes that billed federal healthcare programs and private insurers billions of dollars. Authorities continue to emphasize cooperation across agencies and international lines to disrupt networks that exploit the healthcare payment system.
