Investigators uncovered a large-scale mortgage fraud scheme that originated from a SAR filed on a subject, who turned out to be a victim of the fraud scheme. In addition to filing the SAR, the filing institution also notified the district attorney's office, which opened the investigation and…
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In 2005, a federal task force initiated a 2-year multi-agency investigation against an online pharmaceutical distribution network, resulting in indictments against 18 individuals. The investigation was based on information received from a cooperating witness, who alleged that a pharmaceutical…
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…
In May 2000, a federal jury convicted an individual from Norwood, Massachusetts, on two counts of money laundering believed to be the proceeds of narcotic sales. At the time of the offense, the individual worked at a Brockton, Massachusetts check cashing business. In May 1998, an undercover…
In early February 2002, money-transfer agents in 14 states were raided by federal agents to stop alleged illegal wiring of millions of dollars to Iraq. Twenty-nine (29) search warrants on businesses and individuals were used, allowing law enforcement agents to seize documents and records. The…
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…
In December 2002, the New York office of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s El Dorado Task Force identified numerous Suspicious Activity Reports that showed a pattern of suspicious financial transactions conducted by a company in the New York area. The company was identified as…
A Federal judge sentenced the owners of a tribal tobacco shop to probation and community service, and ordered to them pay almost $10,000,000 in restitution, for conspiring to traffic in contraband cigarettes and for structuring currency transactions. The defendants earlier pleaded guilty in…
Investigators looking into a large-scale international marijuana smuggling and money laundering operation received a break when two banks filed SARs on the targets. One bank filed SARs on structured deposits into a business account that held proceeds of the illegal operation. A second bank filed…
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…