How to Choose a Federal Money Laundering Lawyer
The volume of money that gets laundered around the world has significantly increased over the last few decades. In response, the federal government in the U.S. along with international agencies of law enforcement have increased their ability and efforts to arrest people that launder money and to prevent this crime.
With anti-money laundering efforts and resources that continue to increase, charges and investigations that relate to these white-collar crimes, in combination with tax evasion, drug trafficking, and gambling charges, have also increased. The charges relating to these crimes can result in long prison sentences along with the potential forfeiture and seizure of property and cash.
If you are facing charges relating to money laundering, it is important to get in contact with an experienced and knowledgeable federal defense lawyer that has an understanding of the complicated legal, financial, and sentencing problems relating to cases that involve money laundering and the one that has the skills to successfully negotiate with the federal prosecutors. Here at Levin & Associates, PPLC, we are backed by the investigative capacity, knowledge, and experience in federal courts to successfully defend you against charges relating to federal money laundering.
Money Laundering And Linked Offenses
In most cases, money laundering will involve engaging in or attempting to obscure the money source obtained. This typically means making illegally obtained money appear “legal” through the use of various business or/and financial transactions.
There are several federal laws that oppose money laundering as well as the processes that are specifically used for laundering money. These include the Bank Secrecy Act, Money Laundering Control Act, the Patriot Act, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, and the Anti-Drug Abuse Act.
The more common money laundering act that occurs is when money that is hidden originates from criminal activity, like drug trafficking. If you are facing a situation that involves this activity type you could be faced with a money laundering charge along with other criminal charges. If you were not involved in any of these criminal activities but have used a specific method to conceal your income, you might still face money laundering charges and tax fraud.
Tax evasion involves an intentional underreporting of your income and is one of the typical cases that involve money laundering. This frequently occurs when people do not report additional income from money that is laundered to the IRA (Internal Revenue Service). In some cases, a federal prosecutor will rather go after a tax evasion charge instead of money laundering because this approach is usually easy to prove.
Other offenses linked to money laundering involve insurance fraud. There are many schemes involving collecting large money sums fraudulently from insurance carriers and then mixing this money with the funds that were obtained from other sources in order to launder the fraudulent funds.
Defense Against Money Laundering Charges
If you have been convicted of money laundering, you might face a lengthy prison sentence and forfeiture of your assets. The common prison sentence is usually around three years, yet specific factors which include the number of funds that you laundered and your history, could impact your prison term. At the same time, if a judge has decided you were engaged in laundering money or you were engaged in money laundering methods regarded as sophisticated, the judge may decide to increase your sentence (well beyond the three years).
Due to the complexities involved in sentences and offenses for money laundering, it is essential to hire the services of a skilled, experienced federal defense lawyer to help you build an iron-clad defense, to negotiate with federal prosecutors, and to represent you in court.
