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January 29, 2025Miami, FL, United StatesFinancial Crimes

HSI Miami-Key West investigation leads to 2 Ukrainian nationals sentenced for $25m tax evasion, money laundering and labor exploitation conspiracy

Defendants prosecuted as part of Operation RoomKey

MIAMI — Two Ukrainian nationals who were extradited from the Kingdom of Thailand to the United States in September 2024 were sentenced Jan. 27 on charges related to labor-staffing companies they operated in Florida.

Oleg Oliynyk and Oleksandr Yurchyk were each sentenced to 15 years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to commit money laundering after a joint investigation between Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami-Key West and IRS Criminal Investigation.

According to court documents, Oliynyk, Yurchyk and others owned and operated a series of labor-staffing companies in South Florida — including Paradise Choice LLC, Paradise Choice Cleaning LLC, Tropical City Services LLC and Tropical City Group LLC — from at least April 2008 and August 2021. Through these staffing companies, Oliynyk, Yurchyk and co-defendants Oleksandr Morgunov, Mykhaylo Chugay and Volodymyr Ogorodnychuk facilitated the employment of non-resident aliens in the hospitality industry who were not authorized to work in the United States and helped evade the assessment and collection of more than $25 million of federal income and employment taxes.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Court Judge Jose E. Martinez ordered Oliynyk and Yurchyk to each serve three years of supervised release, pay $10,863,233.05 in restitution to the United States and to forfeit $11 million.

Oliynyk and Yurchyk are the latest defendants sentenced as part of Operation RoomKey, a joint criminal investigation initiative led by the Tax Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, Homeland Security Investigations and IRS Criminal Investigation.

Acting U.S. Attorney Michael S. Davis for the Southern District of Florida and acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

Senior Litigation Counsel Chris Clark of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, Senior Litigation Counsel Sean Beaty, and Trial Attorneys Jessica A. Kraft, Matthew C. Hicks, and Wilson Rae Stamm of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida or on Pacer under case number 21-cr-10009.

Members of the public with information about criminal activity in your community are encouraged to contact the HSI Tip Line at 877-4-HSI-TIP.

Learn more about HSI’s mission to increase public safety in your community on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @HSI_Miami.

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