UK citizen and chairman of Zetland fiduciary group arrested on a money laundering indictment

Date: Oct. 27, 2026

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

Sacramento, CA – James Sutherland, a citizen of the United Kingdom, made his initial appearance on an indictment on Monday, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

On June 25, 2026, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of California returned an indictment charging Sutherland with four counts of money laundering. Sutherland is the Chairman of the Zetland Fiduciary Group, a financial services business, with locations in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, and Dubai.

According to the indictment, on multiple occasions, Sutherland laundered funds which had been represented to be, and which he believed to be, proceeds generated through computer hacking.

“This prosecution highlights our Office’s dedication to working with law enforcement partners around the world to hold money launderers accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Grant. “It is the latest example of our Office’s longstanding efforts to disrupt and dismantle networks that support and promote transnational organized crime.”

“IRS Criminal Investigation special agents are specially equipped to follow the complex financial trail left by criminals, and we are dedicated to holding those accountable for crimes committed,” said Kareem Carter, Executive Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (CI), Washington, D.C. Field Office. “This indictment sends a clear message that IRS-CI and our law enforcement partners, will remain attentive and we will vigorously pursue those who attempt to enrich themselves through illegal means.”

“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is uniquely positioned to investigate and disrupt global money laundering and sanctions evasion operations. HSI in Northern California will pursue enablers of criminal and terrorist networks around the world,” said Jeffrey M. Brannigan, Special Agent-in-Charge for Northern California Homeland Security Investigations.

This case was the product of an investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations with support from the Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture (TEOAF). Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Abendroth is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Sutherland faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is part of the Sacramento Strike Force within the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. The Sacramento Sacrament Strike Force is composed of agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals Service, DEA, and IRS Criminal Investigation with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

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. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 16 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.