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Case Examples
In a case where a corrupt politician extorted money from his constituents, investigators examining his financial records found numerous instances of structuring. In fact, three different banks filed SARs on the defendant detailing unusual transactions. Prosecutors charged the official with multiple…
Case Examples
A federal law enforcement investigation led to the conviction of a mortgage broker who structured more than $500,000 into multiple accounts at various financial institutions. As part of the defendant’s guilty plea to structuring, he admitted that he structured specifically to avoid the Bank Secrecy…
Case Examples
An individual walked into a Pennsylvania bank and opened one individual account and two business accounts. The individual then walked across the street to a different bank and opened three additional accounts. Unbeknownst to the individual, these two banks were in the process of merging and his…
Case Examples
Investigators opened a case after receiving a call from a family friend of a wealthy elderly woman who suspected the woman was being taken advantage of financially. With this information the law enforcement officials proceeded to research BSA documents and found SARs describing structuring on the…
Case Examples
An elected official structured transactions in an attempt to disguise from the IRS his earnings from personal businesses. Investigators discovered the structuring after reviewing SARs filed by banks that detailed the illicit transactions.The official operated a retail business and law firm. He…
Case Examples
An FBI agent proactively reviewing SARs identified a potential fraud scheme. However, as he dug deeper into the scheme, he learned the perpetrators of the crimes were in fact victims of yet another fraud based on high-yield investments. This second scheme led to a series of international…
Case Examples
A business owner who ran a pharmaceutical business that defrauded drug manufacturers was sentenced to nearly two years in prison, three months of supervised probation and ordered to make restitution of $513,369.40. The sentence resulted from a guilty plea to one felony count each for conspiracy to…
Case Examples
Through the review of a Suspicious Activity Report, the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched an investigation into an internal bank fraud that resulted in the conviction of the former president of the bank and his personal banking customer. In 2003, the two defendants were convicted at trial…
Case Examples
In early 2012, FinCEN conducted outreach to all of its state and local law enforcement partners, and asked for cases where FinCEN data played a useful role in their investigations. Below, in their own words, is an example of how FinCEN's stakeholders use FinCEN data. It has been edited only for…
Case Examples
In a case initiated from SARs, Federal agents uncovered two businesses that were hiring illegal aliens in order to provide skilled and unskilled labor services to area warehouses. The businesses then paid the illegal aliens in cash, with funds withdrawn by the president and office manager in…