Money Laundering Conspiracy Or Just Doing Your Job?
A day in the life of a local business owner is a series of small frustrations and small victories. Sure, your elementary school-aged children are impressed by the stack of banknotes in your wallet and by the amount you write on the deposit slip when they ride with you to the bank in the evening, but then, kids think you can buy a house for $100; they cannot fathom even being able to buy a cheeseburger with the money they earned with the work of their own hands. They have no concept of the overhead costs of running a small business. An entrepreneur’s days are a constant struggle to keep the business financially solvent. Therefore, when a customer pays for a purchase in cash, it is a win. You get to keep the money the customer paid. With any other method of payment, you must pay a flat fee or a percentage of the transaction amount to the credit card company, payment app, or point of sale device company. How cruel it would be if accepting payment in cash were a crime! Business owners must follow laws about large cash transactions; if you do not, you can face criminal charges for financial crime. If you are under investigation or facing criminal charges for cash transactions at your place of business, contact a Pittsburgh white collar crime lawyer.
When Does Business Become Money Laundering
The crime of money laundering occurs when someone tries to disguise the illegal origins of money. Businesses that accept cash payments, such as restaurants and car washes, often become targets of money laundering investigations. Business owners must report all cash transactions of more than $10,000, but sometimes slightly smaller cash transactions than that can also become the subject of investigations.
In the News
Christopher Lopez, 41, is the owner of a car dealership in Lancaster County, and Michael Torres, 43, is an employee there. Both men were indicted by a grand jury after they sold a vehicle to two undercover police officers. One of the officers pretended to be a drug dealer, and the other pretended to be the drug dealer’s girlfriend. In the presence of Lopez and Torres, they discussed their plan to buy a car in cash and title it in the woman’s name so that the man’s name would not be connected to the purchase; they led Torres and Lopez to believe that the $33,000 they paid for the car were the proceeds of cocaine sales and that police already suspected the man of drug trafficking activity. The grand jury found sufficient evidence to charge Lopez and Torres with money laundering conspiracy. Both defendants were eventually convicted; Lopez received a sentence of 366 days, and Torres received a sentence of six months.
Contact Gary E. Gerson About Criminal Defense Cases
A criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for money laundering conspiracy. Contact the law offices of Gary E. Gerson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania about your case.
Source:
abc27.com/local-news/lancaster/owner-worker-at-lancaster-county-car-dealership-sentenced-for-money-laundering/
