Ohio man pleads guilty to theft of government funds and money laundering, 10-year prison sentence possible

Date: Sept. 30, 2025

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

Cincinnati, OH — A Liberty Township man pleaded guilty last week in U.S. District Court to charges of 1 count of theft of government funds and one count of money laundering.

According to court documents, Allante Foster of Liberty Township stole money from the United States through a stolen and altered U.S. Treasury check of over $100,000, meant to refund a Texas business for overpayment of 2020 employee taxes. After the check was altered to reflect payment to a company which Foster controlled, “Married to the Game LLC”, he deposited the stolen and fraudulent check into his business checking account at the General Electric Credit Union.

Court documents also state Foster then made three separate rapid withdrawals of cash 4 days after he deposited the stolen and fraudulent check. The three cash withdrawals, on the same day, were between $30,000 and $32,000 for a total of $92,000 withdrawn from the business checking account at General Electric Credit Union, all funds from the stolen U.S. Treasury check.

Foster was indicted in May 2025 and his sentencing is scheduled for January 2026 in Dayton.

Theft of government funds is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and money laundering carries a potential maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison. Congress sets minimum and maximum statutory sentences and sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors at a future hearing.

Karen Wingerd, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Detroit Field Office announced the guilty plea entered Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose.

Assistant United States Attorneys Amy M. Smith and Erica D. Lunderman are representing the United States in this case.

This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and the United States Secret Service.

IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.