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Analysis of SAR Filings and CTRs Leads to Indictments of Criminal Organization

A U.S. Customs Service investigation in Houston of a criminal organization involved in the repackaging and exportation of stolen commercial baby formula was aided by an analysis of SAR filings and CTRs. The criminal network, which operated in several states, laundered their illicit profits…

Appeals Court Affirms Conviction in Tax Evasion Case Arising from a SAR

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the conviction of David Middleton for attempting to evade or defeat income tax in violation of 26 U.S.C. 7201. The case arose from a SAR filed by a bank employee. Middleton was a real estate agent who formed several companies through which…

Attorney Sentenced in Fraud Case

An attorney was sentenced to more than four years probation based on a conviction for mail fraud and structuring of currency transactions. The attorney was also ordered to pay nearly $3 million in restitution to the victims of the various schemes and ordered to cooperate with the Internal

BSA Data Instrumental in Drug Cases

A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation into a local cocaine and marijuana trafficker involved more than one cooperating source who knew of the trafficker but had no biographical data. A SAR was located that identified the trafficker, provided biographical data and notations that…

BSA Filings Identify Financial Scams Bilking Investors out of $2.2 Million

In May 2003, two individuals pled guilty to first-degree money laundering charges. One defendant was sentenced to 12 years incarceration, and ordered to pay $500,000 to the Anti-Money Laundering Profiteering Fund. The second defendant was sentenced to 18 years incarceration. A month earlier, in…

BSA Records Help Investigators Break Multi-Million Dollar Racketeering Scheme in the Trash Hauling Industry

In late 2006, a United States Attorney’s Office secured a guilty plea in a major racketeering case involving trash collectors and organized crime. The multi-state investigation included ten federal, state, and local agencies and resulted in a multiple-count indictment. Hundreds of BSA records…

BSA Records, 314(a) Request Assists Investigation of International Money Laundering Using Stored Value Cards

A man accused of managing an international theft ring involving more than $1 million has been indicted and faces charges including fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors allege that the defendant stole the identities of hundreds of people and used his stored-value card business to launder and…

Bank Manager Steals Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars: Scam Even Targets Sister

In a case initiated based on the filing of SARs, a bank manager pled guilty to a nine-year fraud scheme to steal over a quarter of a million dollars from accounts of customers, including the bank manager’s sister, identified by the bank manager as individuals or businesses that would not miss…

Bank Secrecy Act Data Is an Integral Component of the FBI’s Geographic Information Mapping Technology

U.S. law enforcement and regulatory agencies give priority to detecting terrorist financing. In particular, they seek to identify individuals or businesses used as fundraising vehicles and to detail the movement of financial assets. Effectively implementing strategies that prevent, disrupt and…

Bank Secrecy Act Data Leads to Seizure of $18 Million

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…