A nationwide conspiracy to purchase cigarettes in the South and illegally sell them in Northern States resulted in the loss of millions of dollars in state tax revenue. In some cases, the unpaid tax on a carton of cigarettes was almost $40 a carton. Some of the conspirators made trips south to…
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The deadline to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts form ("FBAR") with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, in accordance with 31 CFR 103.24, for each calendar year is on or before June 30th of the following year. Thus, the deadline to file the FBAR for calendar year 2001 is…
In a case that started from a proactive review of Suspicious Activity Reports, a specialized mortgage fraud task force launched an investigation that led to charges against two individuals. Bank Secrecy Act records captured many of the scheme’s intricate details, including a SAR filed on one of…
A married couple structured millions of dollars through their retail cigarette business using multiple financial institutions and branches. The defendants’ businesses were dependent upon individuals purchasing the cigarettes for illicit tax-free sales in other states. To avoid scrutiny, the…
A suspect was sentenced to multiple months in prison and ordered to pay more than $1 million in back taxes owed on several million dollars in income that was never reported to the Internal Revenue Service. The income was earned from two related businesses that the suspect operated during a 4-…
A multi-agency money laundering/marijuana trafficking investigation was initiated following the filing of a SAR by a bank in Tennessee. The SAR disclosed that an individual was depositing large amounts of U.S. currency into three bank accounts. The deposits ranged from $5,000 to $25,000 with the…
The Pennsylvania (Pa.) Office of Attorney General’s Asset Forfeiture and Money
Laundering Section conducted proactive targeting research on SARs that initiated a Pa. State Grand Jury Money Laundering investigation on two suspects.
FinCEN’s Gateway Program was utilized by the Pa.…
BSA information played a key role in the investigation and prosecution of a major drug trafficker. The information allowed investigators and prosecutors to identify additional accounts as well as measures that the defendant took to hide his illicit gains.
A cocaine dealer was recently…
SARs helped Federal investigators unravel a cross-country drug trafficking ring centered around a large urban university campus. The case featured shipments of marijuana and subsequent large currency deposits and withdrawals designed to avoid reporting requirements. Notably, a financial…
In a case started from SARs, investigators executing a search warrant found $1.8 million of unreported income stashed in a closet. Although the defendants legally earned the funds, they established a system to convert business revenues to cash with the explicit purpose of evading taxes. SARs…