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A multi-agency task force investigating the illicit importation of human growth hormone (HGH) used SARs and other investigative tools to trace international payments made by illegal distributors throughout the United States.
Operating under various enterprise names, the defendant obtained…
A purported entrepreneur convinced scores of individuals to invest in ventures and businesses supposedly related to the extraction of natural resources that were, in reality, part of a sophisticated Ponzi scheme. The defendant followed a familiar pattern evident in such schemes: paying earlier…
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 March 2002, the founder and former president of a small bank pled guilty to structuring financial transactions. The banker had earlier argued that he was merely trying to gain customers for the bank. The case involved the banker asking an individual if he and his father could deposit money at…
An investigation into the exportation of stolen merchandise exposed that the defendant was using a check kiting scheme to defraud local area banks resulting in losses exceeding $50,000. Subsequent to the defendant’s bond hearing, the defendant fled the jurisdiction and continued to engage in…
The former head of an investment firm was sentenced to nearly five years in prison as a result of a guilty plea to one felony count each for mail fraud and filing a false tax return, in a $146 million dollar scheme that targeted senior citizens. The subject pled guilty for his role in the…
A jury found the defendant guilty of structuring after a pattern of transactions designed to evade currency transaction reporting requirements was identified. Prosecutors did not allege that the structured funds were derived from criminal activity.
The jury found the defendant guilty of…
A doctor who distributed more high powered pain pills than the largest regional medical center was brought to justice with the help of BSA records. In these types of investigations, proving that the prescriptions for pain relief are unwarranted can be very difficult because doctors often follow…
BSA records helped identify co-conspirators, accounts, and elements of a mortgage fraud scheme that may total as much as $7 million dollars in losses. SAR filings described transactions related to the fraud in both personal and business accounts belonging to the defendant in the case, and CTRs…
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) played a critical role in the indictment and guilty plea of a weight-loss doctor. The doctor ostensibly ran a weight-loss clinic, but in reality orchestrated a scheme to provide prescriptions for cash. In fact, innocent patients noticed that the doctor’s office…
