In a case that started with the discovery of structuring at a local credit union, investigators found corruption and kickbacks on the part of public transit and utilities officials. With some corrupt officials asking for a percentage in kickbacks on multi-million dollar contracts, the…
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In a case jump-started from an international law enforcement alert, investigators searched BSA records for a drug trafficking investigation and found a number of SARs describing international wire transfers. Previously, a local drug task force had identified the ringleader, but only as a low-…
Case summary: In a proactive use of CTRs, the financial intelligence director with the Manhattan district attorney's office has identified hundreds of businesses that are using check cashers rather than banks as a means of evading Federal, State, and local taxes. The businesses have created, in…
Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted an investigation into the illegal sale of cigarettes that led to the indictment of 13 defendants. Cigarettes that were purchased in a low tax state were sold in a high tax state without the payment of taxes in either…
In March 2002, the FBI opened an investigation into the activities of a hawala dealer in the western United States. Limited initial information received from a citizen complaint prompted a query of the BSA database. The query yielded 30 SARs and 13 CTRs, which were instrumental in identifying…
A former California deputy sheriff pled guilty to extortion and Title 31 charges. He was sentenced to serve 60 months in prison followed by 5 years probation, and ordered to pay $300,000 in restitution to one of the victims. His wife received three years probation for related charges. The…
A bank filed a SAR on an elected official from a suburban locality who structured transactions totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. The SAR triggered an investigation that confirmed the structuring and identified evidence that the elected official committed perjury while filing a…
While investigating a subject of interest because of previous criminal activity, Federal agents found multiple SARs indicating repeated cash-out transactions designed to avoid reporting requirements. Investigators found SARs filed over several years on an owner and operator of a business, and…
Four federal law enforcement agencies coordinated an investigation of a long-running fraud conspiracy that netted its participants more than $15 million in illicit proceeds. The ringleader, a retired financial executive, and a friend concocted a scheme to use nominee buyers to purchase greater…