Newsroom

Case Examples
Suspicious Activity Reports Identify Transactions Linked to Embezzlement of a Tribal Authority
A U.S. district judge sentenced a financial manager to 10 years in custody for using two financial institutions to launder funds from an embezzlement he orchestrated while working for an Indian tribal government entity receiving Federal funds. He was charged with stealing more than $180,000 over a…
Case Examples
SARs Lead to Discovery of $1.8 Million Hidden in House
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…
Case Examples
Biggest Worker’s Compensation Scam in Southern California Totaling More Than $3 Million Dollars
On June 25, 1999, a doctor from southern California, was ordered to pay $250,000 in fines and was sentenced to five years’ probation after his conviction in Los Angeles County Superior Court on three money laundering charges. The doctor is awaiting trial on securities and insurance fraud charges.…
Case Examples
SARs and 314(b) Call Lead to Guilty Plea in Ponzi Scheme
In a case initiated from a proactive review of SARs, an individual pled guilty to fraud when authorities discovered a scheme to defraud individuals and businesses out of millions of dollars. The SARs which triggered the investigation described in detail transactions related to the fraud. In…
Case Examples
SARs Assist in Money Laundering Investigation Involving the Insurance Industry
Information generated from cooperating individuals during Operations Cornerstone, a major narcotics trafficking investigation in the Miami area, revealed narco-traffickers placed their drug proceeds into investments in the insurance industry. Policies were identified in various Channel Island…
Case Examples
Post 9/11 SAR Leads to Guilty Plea in Money Laundering and Illegal Transfer of Funds to Iran Investigation
One individual has pled guilty to multiple counts of money laundering, filing false tax returns, failing to file Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FinCEN Form TD F 90-22.) and illegally transferring funds to Iran. The plea agreement also requires forfeiture of over half a million…
Case Examples
Credit Union Files Suspicious Activity Report and Helps Launch Bank Fraud, International Payment Transfers Investigation
A federal credit union filed a SAR and helped initiate an investigation into a counterfeit check scheme that had similarities with Nigerian 419 fraud schemes. These frauds, designated as such because of the section of the Nigerian criminal code that prohibits them, often promise substantial…
Case Examples
Bank Secrecy Act Report Leads to Investigation Involving Immigration Violations, Money Laundering at Food Products Supplier
An investigation into a seemingly legitimate business uncovered what was in fact a vehicle for money laundering, smuggling and other crimes. BSA information assisted a federal agent in identifying monthly cash deposits of nearly $2 million into business accounts and wire transfers of millions of…
Case Examples
Suspicious Activity Report Initiates Investigation of Major International Narcotics Organization Utilizing the Black Market Peso Exchange
In 2006, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia announced “Operation Rainmaker,” a major, multi-national federal drug and money laundering investigation initiated by ICE-Atlanta that culminated with 24 arrests in the United States and Colombia. The investigation discovered…
Case Examples
SARs Assist in Bankruptcy Bust-out Scheme Investigation
SARs helped identify additional aliases, associates, and businesses of an individual that acted as a credit card ‘bust-out’ recruiter. As a recruiter, the subject assisted other individuals (usually from the same ethnic group and experiencing financial or personal difficulties) in escaping their…