Newsroom

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has a case that involves multiple illegal activities taking place in a number of liquor stores. Violations include the sale of stolen firearms by a non-licensee, money laundering, contraband cigarette trafficking, violations of state…

In 2003, an insurance executive pled no contest and was found guilty on a single count of aggravated theft. The defendant admitted misappropriating money that was intended to pay medical claims for the local government’s self-insured health benefits plan. Acting as the health insurance agent for…

A state law enforcement agency opened an investigation against an individual for fraudulent activity related to real estate sales in Mexico. In the course of the investigation, an agent requested records filed under the BSA. Several BSA records related to the individual indicated financial activity…

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the conviction of David Middleton for attempting to evade or defeat income tax in violation of 26 U.S.C. 7201. The case arose from a SAR filed by a bank employee. Middleton was a real estate agent who formed several companies through which he…

Case summary: Two individuals, who frequented a tribal casino, operated a local escort service and conducted a prostitution business at the casino. Defendant A was often in the company of young females who would meet and then leave with males from the casino for short periods. Upon return to the…

A suspect who owned a business that imported edible delicacies was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for undervaluing the imported Asian delicacy in documentation provided to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.The suspect pleaded guilty to structuring financial transactions to avoid…

A bank employee devised a scheme to embezzle funds from work through a complex scheme that lasted more than 2 ½ years. The scheme involved automated debit and credit transactions conducted through multiple accounts. The Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) filed on the theft details how the fraud took…

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…

On October 7, 1999, a man and woman, their lawyer and three private investigators in their employ were arrested for alleged involvement in an elaborate conspiracy. The conspiracy included bilking millions of dollars worth of goods from a food bank, burning buildings for insurance, stalking, and…

Upon receipt of a Suspicious Activity Report from a bank, the Federal Bureau of Investigation initiated a bank and mail/wire fraud investigation involving a purported charity raising money for needy people in a Middle Eastern country. The Suspicious Activity Report identified a series of checks…