Money Laundering
The money laundering statutes are one of The Federal Government’s prized tools to use in order to secure criminal convictions. In the past, the money laundering statutes have aided in convicting people accused of participating in organized crimes, white collar crimes, government corruption, as well as being members of international drug cartels. The strength of the money laundering statutes is that they require no witnesses, or confidential informants to prove. All the government needs to indict someone for money laundering is a history of funds in an account and the belief that some or all of the funds in that account are the proceeds of a criminal act.
If you or someone you care about is facing criminal charges for money laundering, you need a skilled money laundering attorney who knows how to aggressively protect their clients from investigations by The U.S. Department of Justice, The U.S. Department of the Treasury, The Federal Bureau of Investigations, or many of the other governmental organizations who prosecute alleged financial crimes.
A Brief History of Money Laundering
Money laundering is a criminal act that was created in the 20th century as a response to new tactics that were being used by The Federal Government to prosecute organized crime. While the early money laundering tactics were credited to infamous mobsters such as Meyer Lansky and Al Capone, the term money laundering was originally coined by reporters covering the Nixon-Watergate Scandal. Since then, money laundering has burst into the public eye and has been called by some the lifeline of all organized crime.
What is Money Laundering?
Money laundering is the act of concealing the source of funds that were earned through illegal means so that the funds appear to be legal. There are three important steps to money laundering, they are:
- Placement: Is when money that is obtained from illegal acts is placed in the global banking industry. This is the most dangerous aspect of money laundering and the point where most money laundering conspiracies are uncovered.
- Concealment: Is when the source of the money is concealed, or obfuscated through measures that make it difficult to determine where it came from. This is often done by taking advantage of different international banking privacy laws and the speed that the Internet affords modern banking transactions.
- Extraction: Once the source of the funds has been cleaned, a common practice has been to invest it into other valuable assets and investments like real estate. Once the money has been transferred into valuable assets those assets can be sold to look like legitimate income.
There are countless ways that illegal funds can be washed; money laundering is a crime that is only limited by the imagination of those who seek to launder funds. It is because of this that The Federal Government will often bring prosecution frivolously when no such actions have occurred. The Federal Government would have you believe merely being in possession of funds that are believed to be the proceeds of illegal actions is enough to secure a conviction for money laundering. However, the justice system in The United States is not so easily Steamrolled. If you are facing money laundering charges, you need skilled money laundering defense lawyers to protect you from the threat of jail time and your assets from being seized. Contact the experienced money laundering attorneys at The Blanch Law Firm today and being your defending yourself from heinous criminal allegations.
Penalties
Many times money laundering will be overlooked in an indictment because there will be other criminal charges that may seem to be more important at the time to the defendant. That can be a fatal mistake for people who are charged with:
These are just a short list of possible criminal actions that could lead to a charge of money laundering. While charges of money laundering can often be overlooked, the penalties for them are very severe. Serving a term of 20 years in jail and a criminal penalty of $250,000 or twice the value of the laundered assets is not an uncommon penalty for serious money laundering charges.
Asset Forefeiture
Aside from lengthy prison terms as well as expensive fines, asset forfeiture is another penalty that defendants accused of alleged acts of money laundering are exposed to. If a bank account is suspected to be the proceeds of illegal acts, it can be frozen and all of the money in it can be seized. Likewise, if you possess valuable material assets, such as boats, real estate, fine art or companies that are suspected of being involved in a conspiracy to launder money, they may also be temporarily possessed and face possible criminal seizure. If your valuable assets have been seized as part of an investigation in an alleged money laundering conspiracy, contact the money laundering lawyers at The Blanch Law Firm today.
The Blanch Law Firm Can Help
Recent events in the economy and financial markets have created a negative public opinion of people who have been charged with white collar crimes. Because of the serious penalties for money laundering, prosecutors operate from a position of power when negotiating with defendants who have money laundering charges on their indictment. If you are facing charges of money laundering, you need the best money laundering attorneys to protect your rights. The experienced white collar attorneys at The Blanch Law Firm have years of experience protecting their clients from charges related to alleged money laundering acts. Contact The Blanch Law Firm today if you are facing money laundering charges and begin the fight to protect your rights and secure your future.