Thursday, April 30, 2026 - A descendant of the Cartier jewelry dynasty has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison after confessing to running an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange that laundered more than $470 million in drug trafficking proceeds.
Maximilien de Hoop Cartier, a resident of France who
moonlights as a singer under the name “Max Cartier,” was sentenced in Manhattan
federal court on Tuesday, April 28, after pleading guilty in October to
operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and conspiracy to commit
bank fraud.
Cartier, 58, funneled the money through a web of US shell
companies disguised as fake software and tech firms — with names like Bullpix
Solutions, Softmill LLC, and VC Innovated before routing it to Colombia,
prosecutors said.
The companies existed solely to receive and transmit
international drug money, converting narcos’ cryptocurrency into hard currency.
To fool banks, Cartier used forged contracts and invoices,
making it appear the firms were doing legitimate tech work. He deliberately
broke transactions into chunks to avoid bank scrutiny.
The scheme, dubbed the “Cartier Cell” by feds, dates back to
at least 2018.
The jewelry heir told an undercover FBI agent he considered
a New York City hotel his second home, where he handled his crypto clients,
lawyers, and banks.
In 2021, DEA agents seized nearly $940,000 from his accounts
after funneling drug proceeds into them through an undercover operation.
Cartier then walked into the US Attorney’s office in
Pennsylvania with forged business records and talked prosecutors into returning
a portion of the money before agents built the case that ultimately put him away
Cartier, a French resident and Argentine citizen, was
ordered to pay $2,362,160 in forfeiture — his cut of the laundering operation —
and forfeit several shell company bank accounts.
US Attorney John Clayton said that the Cartier “exploited
his knowledge of US and international financial systems to launder drug money
and other crime proceeds.”
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