The October 22, 2008 "Asset Search News Roundup" mentioned the problem of money launderers concealing assets through money mules. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued its own alert last week about this same use of money mules:
Click Here For A Complete View Of Last Week’s Alert
A money mule making a wire
As a countermeasure against those bank customers who would use their bank accounts to fraudulently conceal assets, government regulators commonly require that banks apply customer identification or “know your customer” rules. These rules are often geared toward identifying the true beneficial owner of a bank account and are analyzed at my articles “Beneficial Owners Concealing
Minnesota money managers Trevor Cook, Patrick Kiley, Christopher Pettengill, Jason Bo-Alan Beckman and Gerald Durand, have been sued by 57 investors for alleged securities fraud. The Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote about the lawsuit in “Investment fraud suit grows more complex” and earlier on July 12, 2009.
The investors’ second amended complaint at part 1 and part 2 herein, pleaded causes of action for: fraud, conversion, civil theft, negligent misrepresentation, civil conspiracy, deceptive trade practices, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty. It asserted that the money managers had converted about $16 million belonging to the investors by inducing the investors to place monies in a foreign currency arbitrage program.
This second amended complaint specifically claimed that some of the money managers had aired radio broadcasts to solicit investments for the foreign currency arbitrage program. Money manager Christopher Pettengill reportedly described this arbitrage program to two investors, by drawing what might be nothing more than a meaningless link chart:
(Click On The Link Chart To Enlarge It)
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Continue Reading Money Laundering By Minneapolis Money Managers?
The U.S. Department of Justice believes that seizing assets from Mexican drug cartels can generally help combat cross-border murder, kidnapping, robbery, etc. Through the person of the Criminal Division’s Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer, the Department of Justice reiterated its desire to seize the illicit assets of illegal narco-traffickers.
Assistant Attorney General Breuer stated at a July 22, 2009 conference, that U.S. asset forfeiture and money laundering laws gave authorities the necessary tools to trace and then seize illicit drug-related assets. He stressed the importance of disrupting the finances of narco-traffickers because their existence was fueled by large sums of cash. The Assistant Attorney General also said that prosecutors should conduct financial investigations and add asset forfeiture claims to indictments in their criminal cases.
He additionally stated in a July 9, 2009 hearing before a committee of the U.S.House of Representatives, that: “… seizing the financial infrastructure of the cartels undermines their very existence“. During the Assistant Attorney General’s July 9 and July 22 statements, he specifically mentioned Operation Xcellerator, which had targeted the Sinaloa drug cartel. A May 17, 2007 news release also discussed Sinaloa narco-trafficking. It.claimed that Ismael Zambada Garcia, (as a supposed Sinaloa trafficker), had laundered drug monies via the following financial network:
(To Fully View This Image, Click On It)
Continue Reading A Strategy Of Seizing Sinaloa Drug Cartel Assets
Albert Gonzalez was arrested in the Southern District of Florida on May 8, 2008 pursuant to this warrant:
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Click On The Arrest Warrant To Enlarge It
The arrest arose out of Mr. Gonzalez’s alleged computer hacking / identity theft scheme which was later outlined in a May 14, 2008 New York superseding indictment. This superseding indictment in U.S.A. v. Yastremskiy, et. al., 08-cr-00160, claimed that Mr. Gonzalez and his co-defendants had stolen credit card information through computer intrusions at Dave & Busters, Inc. restaurants. Mr. Gonzalez and / or his co-defendants were accused of violating federal laws including but not limited to: conspiracy (18 U.S.C. §371); fraud related to computers (18 U.S.C. §1030); wire fraud (18 U.S.C. §1343 ); access device fraud (18 U.S.C. §1029); aggravated identity theft (18 U.S.C. §1028A); etc.
Almost three months after the superseding indictment was filed against him in New York, Mr. Gonzalez was next indicted in Massachusetts. According to the August 5, 2008 Massachusetts indictment in U.S.A. v. Albert Gonzalez, 08-cr-10233, Mr. Gonzalez had hacked computers which stored credit card information for BJ’s Wholesale Club, DSW, OfficeMax, Boston Market and others.
Like the New York superseding indictment, the Massachusetts indictment accused Mr. Gonzalez of: conspiracy (18 U.S.C. §371); fraud related to computers (18 U.S.C. §1030); wire fraud (18 U.S.C. §1343 ); access device fraud (18 U.S.C.§1029); and aggravated identity theft (18 U.S.C. §1028A). The Massachusetts indictment also essentially asserted that Mr. Gonzalez had hidden the proceeds of his hacking / identity theft scheme by money laundering through multiple jurisdictions.Continue Reading Using Foreign Computer Evidence Against An Accused Hacker
"An Asset Search, Tax Fraud & Divorce" mentioned that Brian, (a former high-ranking official at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, who had earlier been an IRS special agent), said: "Once a tax fraud investigation starts rolling along, nobody knows where it may end up".
Today’s "Asset Search News Roundup" is
If your are suing your adversary over hidden assets, you might be able to use link charts. You can use the charts in court to show how your adversary has hidden money or other assets. Financial Intelligence Units, local law enforcement, prosecutors, etc. visually analyze data through link charts like the one below from
Politically exposed persons who are involved in public corruption schemes, sometimes use money laundering to hide bribes or other illicit proceeds. Although not accused of money laundering, former Detroit city councilwoman Monica Conyers, was a politically exposed person suspected of accepting bribes. Monica Conyers is also the wife of House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers.
Have the methods mentioned at “Asset Search Indicia For Divorce, Debt Collection & Bankruptcy“, been used to hide assets during a financial fraud? Are there any red flags that assets are being fraudulently concealed? Finding answers to these questions can be critically important if you are trying to recover: marital assets; probate assets
Identity theft can play a role in white-collar crimes ranging from money laundering to tax fraud. Perhaps most interesting are the schemes which share identity theft and money laundering as common elements, like the one mentioned at "A Tax Fraud & Identity Theft From Miami". Identity theft and money laundering are similarly