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Proactive Suspicious Activity Report Search Leads to Guilty Plea in Tax Fraud Investigation

In a case initiated from the filing of a SAR, investigators found that a property owner under-reported his income for several years. All told, the defendant owed and did subsequently pay the Internal Revenue Service hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes, penalties, and interest. Six…

Suspicious Activity Reports Document Transactions of International Fraud Ring

In a case that started when a bank notified federal agents that it intended to file a SAR on two subjects, investigators utilized BSA records to uncover additional participants in a fraud scheme. The investigation determined that the participants used stolen account information to steal funds…

Suspicious Activity Reports Detail International Payments of Drug Trafficking Ring

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-…

Bank Secrecy Act Report Leads to Investigation Involving Immigration Violations, Money Laundering at Food Products Supplier

An investigation into a seemingly legitimate business uncovered what was in fact a vehicle for money laundering, smuggling and other crimes. BSA information assisted a federal agent in identifying monthly cash deposits of nearly $2 million into business accounts and wire transfers of millions of…

BSA Records Show Money Received through Mortgage-Related Ponzi Scheme Supported Million-Dollar Gambling Habit

A federal investigator characterized BSA data as extremely important in determining how the defendant in a multi-million dollar fraud case spent the proceeds. FinCEN researchers recovered almost 400 Casino CTRs related to the defendant dating back more than 10 years. Although some of the casino…

Proactive SAR Review Uncovers $15 Million Securities Conversion Scheme

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…

SAR Leads to Structuring Conviction for Mortgage Broker

A federal law enforcement investigation led to the conviction of a mortgage broker who structured more than $500,000 into multiple accounts at various financial institutions. As part of the defendant’s guilty plea to structuring, he admitted that he structured specifically to avoid the Bank…

Proactive SAR Review Leads to Guilty Plea on Conspiracy and Money Laundering Charges

A Suspicious Activity Report detailing more than $4.6 million worth of fraudulent activity associated with electronics sales over the Internet prompted a SAR review team to initiate a case on a subject known to have been previously identified with fraudulent activity. The filer reported that the…

SAR Review Team Identifies Gift Shop Operating as an Unregistered Money Services Business

A Suspicious Activity Report review team identified SARs filed by three different financial institutions within several months on the same subject, describing similar transactions involving structuring and the wire transfer of funds to an Eastern European country (Country A).

According to…

Restaurant Owner Pleads Guilty to a Charge of Structuring Bank Deposits

In a case started by a Suspicious Activity Report review team, investigators charged a restaurant owner with structuring bank deposits. The subject had been known to law enforcement for some time, and local authorities suspected him of participating in illegal activity. The resulting…