Odenton Man Faces 20 Years in Prison for Money Laundering

An Odenton man faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court to laundering money tied to stolen waste vegetable oil.

The Baltimore Sun reports Anthony Jean-Claude, 40, admitted he stole waste vegetable oil from restaurants. The oil can be reused as biodiesel fuel or as an additive for animal feed.

According to the plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Jean-Claude and a partner stole waste oil from restaurants in Maryland, Virginia and Washington. A warehouse in Middle River was used to store both stolen and legitimate waste oil before selling it, according to the newspaper.

Jean-Claude and a partner created an account that received $1.5 million from oil sales in 2012. Checks were written from the account and the warehouse manager was told to cash the checks, use some of the money for warehouse operations and give the rest to Jean-Claude, the Sun says.

Prosecutors said Jean-Claude faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. His sentencing is set for June 10.