EFTA00179844¶
Villafana, Ann Marie C. (USAFLS)¶
| From: | Cassella, Stefan |
| Sent: | Thursday, March 22, 2007 4:14 PM |
| To: | Villafana, Ann Marie C.(USAFLS) |
| Subject: | RE:A Money Laundering Question |
Aside from cases where there is a representation as to the nature of the money by a law enforcement agent (sting cases; 1956(a)(3)), or cases involving the international transfer of funds (intl money laundering; 1956(a)(2)(A)), all money laundering offenses under 1956 and 1957 require proof that the money actually was SUA proceeds. There is no provision, in other words, for “reverse money laundering” – i.e., the process of sending money from one place to another for the purpose of promoting a future criminal act. This is a problem in our money laundering statutes that we’ve asked Congress to fix. (Ironically, the State of Florida has a state reverse money laundering statute that might apply to your facts.)¶
There are some other possibilities, however. If the money was sent via a money remitter, there could be a violation of 1960(b)(1)(C) (sending funds through a money remitting business knowing that they were intended to be used for an illegal purpose). Also, since the end result of this transaction was the promotion of a prostitution offense, you could have a violation of 1952 (using a facility in interstate commerce to promote a state prostitution offense).¶
Please let me know if either of these work for you.¶
Stef¶
| From: | Villafana, Ann Marie C. (USAFLS) | [mailto:Ann.Marie.C.Villafana@usdoj.gov] |
| Sent: | Thursday, March 22, 2007 | 4:00 PM |
| To: | Cassella, Stefan | |
| Subject: | RE: A Money Laundering Question |
Thank you, Stef. I must admit that your answer doesn’t make me happy. Do you think that there is any other type of money laundering that I could charge?¶
A. Marie Villafaña¶
Assistant U.S. Attorney¶
500 S. Australian Ave, Ste 400¶
West Palm Beach, FL 33401¶
561 820-8711¶
Fax 561 820-8777¶
ann.marie.c.villafana@usdoj.gov¶
| From: | Cassella, Stefan |
|---|---|
| Sent: | Thursday, March 22, 2007 3:10 PM |
| To: | Villafana, Ann Marie C. (USAFLS) |
| Subject: | RE: A Money Laundering Question |
Marie,¶
We have always taken the position that a sting offense - i.e., a violation of 1956a3 - requires proof of a representation that the property involved in the transaction was either A) SUA proceeds, or B) property used to facilitate. In other words, contrary to your construction of the statute, we think the representation element applies to both of the phrases that follow, and not just to the proceeds. I could go into detail regarding the elements of 1956(a)(3) and its legislative history if¶
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EFTA00179845¶
necessary (we did a memo on this to counsel for one of the agencies many years ago), but I think the reason you haven’t found any case law on this is that we’ve discouraged bringing any prosecutions based on this reading of the statute.¶
I suspect that this is not what you were hoping to hear, but that’s how we see it.¶
Good luck with this,¶
Stef¶
From: Villafana, Ann Marie C. (USAFLS) [mailto:Ann.Marie.C.Villafana@usdoj.gov]¶
Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2007 12:50 PM¶
To: Cassella, Stefan¶
Subject: A Money Laundering Question¶
Hi Stefan — One of our ICE Agents recommended that I contact you with this question. I have a target who transfers funds from a bank account in New York to a bank account in Florida. The target then asks his assistant in Florida to withdraw cash from the Florida account to pay underage prostitutes here in Florida. I would like to charge money laundering under 1956(a)(3)(A): “Whoever, with the intent (A) to promote the carrying on of specified unlawful activity; … conducts or attempts to conduct a financial transaction involving … property used to conduct or facilitate specified unlawful activity, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than 20 years or both.”¶
I read the statute as NOT requiring either the use of criminal proceeds or an attempt to conceal the transactions, but I haven’t found any cases that involve purely promotional money laundering. Can you help?¶
Thank you so much.¶
A. Marie Villafaña¶
A. Marie Villafaña¶
Assistant U.S. Attorney¶
500 S. Australian Ave, Ste 400¶
West Palm Beach, FL 33401¶
561 820-8711¶
Fax 561 820-8777¶
ann.marie.c.villafana@usdoj.gov¶
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