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FinCEN Information Helps Jury Convict Cocaine Trafficker

Federal prosecutors used information directly derived from FinCEN records to help convict a repeat drug trafficker. The wealth accumulated by the defendant through illicit drug sales became evident with the filing of numerous CTRs documenting transactions at casinos, a Form 8300 filed in…

Proactive SAR Review Leads to Guilty Pleas in Structuring, Bank Fraud Case

A proactive SAR review task force identified a record that described structuring in an account of an individual who was subsequently found to not be involved in the suspected criminal activity. The investigators began focusing on the subject who caused the structured transaction noted in the SAR…

Suspicious Activity Reports Document International Payments Underlying Illicit Human Growth Hormone Trafficking

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…

Proactive SAR Review Identifies Retired U.S. Military Officer Involved in Bribery Scheme

Suspicious Activity Reports, filed by a credit union and money transmitter, led to the investigation of a retired officer who began accepting bribes while still in military service. The defendant orchestrated a scheme to ensure specific entities were awarded contracts for services related to the…

SARs Reveal Multi-Million Dollar Illicit Business

Through a proactive review of SARs, law enforcement found that the purveyor of illicit devices structured millions of dollars of proceeds into a financial institution. The devices were a violation of state law and hence led to a charge of money laundering. In the indictment, prosecutors sought…

SAR Helps in Investigation of Doctor Prescribing Thousands of Pain Relief Pills

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…

SARs Help Dismantle Interstate Cigarette Smuggling Operation

A nationwide conspiracy to purchase cigarettes in the South and illegally sell them in Northern States resulted in the loss of millions of dollars in state tax revenue. In some cases, the unpaid tax on a carton of cigarettes was almost $40 a carton. Some of the conspirators made trips south to…

SARs Help Investigators Stop Fraudsters in Elder Financial Exploitation Case

Investigators opened a case after receiving a call from a family friend of a wealthy elderly woman who suspected the woman was being taken advantage of financially. With this information the law enforcement officials proceeded to research BSA documents and found SARs describing structuring on…

BSA Records Help Dismantle Oxycodone Ring

Members of a multi-state drug trafficking and money laundering organization have pled guilty to multiple counts of narcotics trafficking and money laundering. The organization trafficked in Oxycodone and the movement of large amounts of money between two states. The organization was identified…

SARs Help Bust $1 Million Drug Ring Led by Significantly Older Student

SARs helped Federal investigators unravel a cross-country drug trafficking ring centered around a large urban university campus. The case featured shipments of marijuana and subsequent large currency deposits and withdrawals designed to avoid reporting requirements. Notably, a financial…