IRS Resource - Money Laundering Case Investigations
Written by Shari R. Pogach, Regulatory Paralegal
I always like to come across useful information that can be used for training purposes. For instance I just discovered that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a nifty listing of examples of money laundering investigations on its website. These listings come from public record documents filed in the courts where the cases were prosecuted. The cases involve the standard drug trafficking, elder abuse, fraud, Ponzi schemes, etc. But under the fiscal year 2015 investigations, I found two that I'd like to highlight as they both directly involve financial institutions: 1) an example of structuring to avoid currency transaction reporting and 2) ATM theft by the company servicer.
Case Example #1:
North Carolina Man Sentenced for Structuring Financial Transactions
On April 27, 2015, in Raleigh, North Carolina, James Dino Wills, of Wilson, North Carolina, was sentenced to 102 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $733,882. Wills also agreed to file amended federal income tax returns for the tax years 2008 through 2013 and to pay any taxes owed. Wills pleaded guilty on May 7, 2014 to structuring financial transactions to evade the filing of currency transaction reports (CTRs). Federal law requires banks and other financial institutions to file CTRs with the U.S. Treasury Department for all cash transactions exceeding $10,000. According to court documents, Wills operated a business in the Rocky Mount and Wilson, North Carolina areas from 2008 to 2013 and received payments for services primarily in the form of checks. These checks were deposited into his business accounts at two financial institutions. Wills then structured cash withdrawals from these accounts in order to avoid the filing of CTRs. From 2008 to 2013, he structured $755,764 in cash transactions. Wills was prosecuted for the same offense in 1998. (Emphasis added.)
Case Example #2:
Missouri Man Sentenced for Stealing Money from ATMs
On Nov. 18, 2014, in Kansas City, Missouri, Anthony T. Civella, Jr., was sentenced to 24 months in prison and ordered to pay $70,000 in restitution, in addition to the restitution that has already been paid. On Feb. 27, 2014, Civella pleaded guilty to bank larceny and money laundering. According to court documents, from 2011 through 2013, Civella owned and operated a company called C Management Group, LLC, which serviced 35 ATMs in the Kansas City, Missouri, metropolitan area. Civella stole $330,040 from the ATMs by obtaining a maintenance code to access the machines. Civella moved money between the ATM machines in order to conceal the theft from the bank. He then comingled the stolen money from the ATMs by depositing most of the cash into his personal checking account at a credit union. (Emphasis added.)
Hopefully these IRS money laundering real world examples of criminal activity can enhance your existing training tools for Bank Secrecy Act education for your staff.