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Case Examples
In 2003, four individuals, previously convicted of charges related to a multi-million dollar real estate scheme, were ordered to pay over $1 million in restitution to reimburse victims of their crimes. According to court documents, a real estate investor and an attorney arranged for the proceeds of…
Case Examples
SARs provided helpful information to investigators in making a case against an auto dealer and several associates involved in a drug trafficking and money laundering organization. During a 5-month investigation, Federal agents uncovered a scheme that involved cash purchases at the dealership of…
Case Examples
A used auto dealer pleaded guilty to laundering $35,000 in currency from an undercover source acting on behalf of Federal agents. The investigation, initiated by a SAR, led to the arrest of the subject. A SAR showed excessive cash activity in the account for the used car dealer, with the filer…
Case Examples
An attorney was sentenced to more than four years probation based on a conviction for mail fraud and structuring of currency transactions. The attorney was also ordered to pay nearly $3 million in restitution to the victims of the various schemes and ordered to cooperate with the InternalRevenue…
Case Examples
In January 1999, the Financial Crimes Division (FCD) of the Texas Office of Attorney General (OAG), initiated an investigation into money laundering allegations based on information received from a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) filed by a Texas bank. This investigation centered on the operation…
Case Examples
SARs initiated the investigation of an automobile dealer who held several accounts at different institutions and continually transferred funds among the accounts, which caused the accounts to be overdrawn by millions of dollars. In addition to filing the SARs, the bank also notified law enforcement…
Case Examples
Four individuals involved in the distribution and sale of marijuana were sentenced to prison terms ranging 12 to 21 months followed by up to 36 months probation. These sentences resulted from guilty pleas by the targets on one count each of money laundering for the manner in which they handled…
Case Examples
A proactive review of BSA filings from several financial institutions led law enforcement to investigate the operator of a charitable organization who had structured over $1 million. The defendant pleaded guilty to structuring and the filing of a false tax return, and was sentenced to a prison term…
Case Examples
A repeat fraud offender landed back in court when investigators found that two casinos filed CTRs for transactions he conducted that totaled over half a million dollars. The investigation determined that he substantially underreported his income, violated provisions of his release by traveling out…
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…