In April 2002, predicated by numerous SAR filings by two large banks, the FBI initiated an investigation into an investment scam. The SARs were filed on numerous personal and business accounts with no obvious relationships to one another. Bank personnel eventually linked all accounts through the…
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The United States Secret Service, New York Field Office, seized over $5.3 million from a correspondent account for a bank headquartered in Nigeria. Investigative leads derived from Bank Secrecy Act data determined that this account was actually owned by the Nigerian bank and operated by the bank…
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…
An investigation into hedge fund fraud that was initiated from a SAR resulted in guilty pleas, forfeiture, and in the case of the ringleader, a lengthy prison sentence. The prosecution began several years ago when a federal grand jury charged four men in connection with the fraud. All of the…
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…
Through the review of a Suspicious Activity Report, the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched an investigation into an internal bank fraud that resulted in the conviction of the former president of the bank and his personal banking customer. In 2003, the two defendants were convicted at trial…
An investigation of a possible violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act was initiated following the filing of a SAR by a bank in New York. The SAR stated that an unnamed bank vice president in charge of the funds transfer program manipulated four payments to the Sudan…
In January 2002, an investigation was initiated, subsequent to receiving SARs, into the operation of an unlicensed money remitter.
A foreign bank account, containing approximately $3 million, was frozen at the request of USCS agents. A federal search warrant was also executed at the…
The IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI conducted an investigation of several individuals involved in soliciting investments and deposits in a financial institution that falsely claimed Indian tribal authority and offshore-style banking privacy. The defendants used the Internet to solicit…
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…