Money laundering is the act of hiding or disguising the source or destination of illegally-obtained funds so that they are difficult to trace.  Money is laundered so that the profits of theft, drug sales, or other illegal activity will appear to come from a legitimate source.   While money laundering is often thought of as more related to drug crimes, frequently money laudering is used in business related schemes and white collar crime.  For example, money laundering charges may be associated with illegal funds obtained through securities fraud, mortgage fraud, bribery, business fraud, and other financial crimes.

What are the elements of money laudering?

The government must prove the following elements under 18 U.S.C. § 1956 beyond a reasonable doubt in order to convict you of money laundering:

1. You conducted a financial transaction (transferring money, etc.) with proceeds from an illegal activity;
2. You knew that the proceeds were from illegal activity; and you did it to:
3. continue the illegal activity, or to:
4. hide it from the IRS, or to:
5. “conceal or disguise the nature, the location, the source, the ownership, or the control of the proceeds of specified unlawful activity”; or finally,
6. to avoid a transaction reporting requirement under State or Federal law.

What are the penalties for money laudering?

Money laundering is almost always charged as a federal crime, because teh money has crossed state lines.  A conviction for money laudering under 18 U.S.C. § 1956 may result in up to 20 years imprisonment, as well as a fine of not more than $500,000, or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater.  Specific penalties that may be imposed may vary depending on your particular case.

Money laundering is a very sophisticated criminal charge, and your lawyer needs to be experienced in federal criminal defense, as well as the specific substantive law of financial crime.   Simply receiving money from a bad source can expose you to serious criminal charges.  The good news, however, is there are specific defenses that can be used to defend against these charges if you are unwittingly caught up in someone else’s scheme.  This firm has a nationwide federal criminal defense practice.  Please call us at 601-991-1099 when you need our assistance.

White-collar crime is a “brand” of crime covering a variety of activities that usually involve cheating someone out of something.  I’ve covered it previously here.  The main deference between ”white-collar” crimes, like tax evasion, mortgage fraud, FEMA fraud, etc., and “blue-collar” crimes, like robbery, homicide, etc., is the means by which the offense is committed.  Blue-collar crimes typically involve physical force, whereas white collar crimes are usually technical and financial in nature, and committed in commercial situations.

White collar crimes can be charged in both state and federal court.  Federal law covers a much wider range of criminal misconduct, and the  federal criminal justice system is the forum of choice for large scale cases with an interstate, nationwide, or international scope.  But Mississippi has entire sections of its code dedicated to offenses that can be classified as “white collar,” and the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, in cooperation with other state agencies like the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the State Auditor’s Office, are more than capable of investigating and prosecuting white collar crime.

Clarence Guthrie regularly represents clients in both state and federal court who are charged with white collar crime.   He also assists clients with filing and litigating appeals in state and federal appellate courts.  A white collar case is likely to start with an investigation, and you may not even be aware of it.  When you do find out, call Clarence immediately for an honest assessment of your case.

Federal healthcare fraud is the intentional misstatement of facts involving healthcare transactions that leads to unfair and unauthorized benefits or financial gain.  Generally considered a white collar federal offense, this crime can be committed by healthcare providers such as doctors or therapists, nurses, hospital administrators and employees, but can also be committed by insured members or employers.  The federal government has become increasingly more active in prosecuting these types of crimes, and the penalties (fines, incarceration, etc.) are severe.

Even small billing errors are looked at with increasing scrutiny, and sometimes prosecuted as fraud and abuse.  A good lawyer that is familiar with white collar criminal defense can sometimes mean the difference between a federal indictment, or business continuing on. 

What are some examples of healthcare fraud?

• Misstatement of Services Rendered – billing for services that may have never been given; billing for non-covered services; misrepresentation of dates, descriptions, or personnel involved in the treatment; improper coding; billing for medically unnecessary services; “unbundling,” which is charging Medicare separately for services that are actually a part of a single procedure
• Kickbacks – in return for referring patients or bribery for recommending one plan over another
• Unreasonable rates – everyone knows that medical services are expensive, but when the charges get out of hand it can literally be criminal
• Personnel issues – providing and billing for services by unlicensed personnel, or failing to supervise untrained personnel

How can a patient get into trouble for healthcare fraud?

• Identity issues – using someone else’s Medicare card to get healthcare or prescriptions, or forging names to get coverage for friends
• Filing fraudulent claims – for services not received
• Doctor shopping – requesting care, or prescriptions, from multiple doctors at once without efforts to coordinate the care.  Usually stems from a reliance on prescription drugs.  Google “Corey Haim Doctor Shopping” for information on how this child actor from the 1980s destroyed his life going from doctor to doctor for drugs.

Title 18, Section 1347 of the United States Code is the main healthcare fraud statute, and states:

Whoever knowingly and willfully executes, or attempts to execute, a scheme or artifice—

(1) to defraud any health care benefit program; or

(2) to obtain, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, any of the money or property owned by, or under the custody or control of, any health care benefit program,

in connection with the delivery of or payment for health care benefits, items, or services, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both. If the violation results in serious bodily injury (as defined in section 1365 of this title), such person shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both; and if the violation results in death, such person shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both.

Numerous other federal statutes may apply, and Mississippi has laws prohibiting certain conduct relating to healthcare as well.  If you are caught up in a federal healthcare investigation, you will need an attorney helping you, and the sooner the better.  Clarence has experience helping people in these situations, and will be glad to discuss your case with you.  Call at any time, or send an email to clarence@guthriefirm.com and it will go straight to him.

Some federal investigations take years to complete.  They begin with suspicious activity or crimes that are reported, then federal law enforcement agencies get involved, and they typically culminate in a grand jury investigation.  It is quite common in white-collar criminal investigations for citizens to be investigated for months or years and not even know it.   But if the investigation focuses in on you, and the government wants you to come “explain some things” to the grand jury, it is the policy of the Department of Justice to advise you of your rights if you are a “target” or “subject” of a grand jury investigation.  The way they do this is with a “target letter.” 

If you are a “target” of a federal investigation, the government thinks they have “substantial evidence” linking you to a crime, and the prosecutor believes you will likely be indicted.  If you are a ”subject” of a grand jury investigation, your conduct is merely “within the scope” of the grand jury’s investigation.  As a “subject” they probably just want some information from you, but you can never be sure. 

The following is a sample target letter taken straight from the United States Attorney’s Manual:

This letter is supplied to a witness scheduled to appear before the federal Grand Jury in order to provide helpful background information about the Grand Jury. The Grand Jury consists of from sixteen to twenty-three persons from the District of ___. It is their responsibility to inquire into federal crimes which may have been committed in this District. As a Grand Jury witness you will be asked to testify and answer questions, and to produce records and documents. Only the members of the Grand Jury, attorneys for the United States and a stenographer are permitted in the Grand Jury room while you testify. We advise you that the Grand Jury is conducting an investigation of possible violations of federal criminal laws involving, but not necessarily limited to *. You are advised that the destruction or alteration of any document required to be produced before the grand jury constitutes serious violation of federal law, including but not limited to Obstruction of Justice. You are advised that you are a target of the Grand Jury’s investigation. You may refuse to answer any question if a truthful answer to the question would tend to incriminate you. Anything that you do or say may be used against you in a subsequent legal proceeding. If you have retained counsel, who represents you personally, the Grand Jury will permit you a reasonable opportunity to step outside the Grand Jury room and confer with counsel if you desire.

Cordially,

The bottom line is this:  If you receive a target letter, you are most likely going to be indicted.  Get your lawyer on it, and just get ready for it.

What to do if you receive a target letter:

If you receive a letter similar to the one above, you need a lawyer immediately.  No question about it.  You need a white-collar defense lawyer; one that is familiar with federal court.   The sooner you retain a competent lawyer during the pre-indictment phase, the better off you will be.  Hopefully your lawyer can guide you through the grand jury process, can negotiate with the U.S. Attorney early-on, and can either get the investigation closed or at least focused on the proper things that will be beneficial to you.

If you receive a target letter give me a call.  At the very least I can tell you what to expect.

Commentators frequently lament the fact that Mississippi is at or near the bottom of most statistical lists when compared to other states. Guess what?  We finally topped one.  A recent article shows that the District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi is one of the most active federal district courts in terms of per capita white collar criminal convictions.  Federal District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr., based in Hattiesburg, was ranked second on the list of federal judges in terms of number of white collar convictions.  So there is no shortage of white collar crime in Mississippi.  In fact it is on the rise. 

A white collar crime is a non-violent illegal activity, usually some type of theft, that involves deceit.  White collar crimes are typically committed by business people or public officials, but depending on the crime, there is no stereotypical white collar criminal.  We’ve been going through some difficult financial times lately, and Mississippi has been hit hard like everywhere else. 

Does this mean there is more white collar crime in these bad times than in good times, when everyone is making money?  Probably not.  Check out this post from a former white collar criminal-turned authority on the subject.  The analogy of “bodies floating to the surface” is colorful, to say the least. 

White collar crimes include:

• Antitrust violations
• Bribery
• Counterfeiting
• Economic espionage
• Embezzlement
• Extortion (blackmail)
• Falsifying business records
• Environmental law violations
• Money Laundering
• Corruption of Public Officials
• RICO violations
• Tax evasion
• Fraud, in all of its various forms, including:
  • Bankruptcy fraud
  • Credit card fraud
  • Financial fraud
  • Government fraud
  • Healthcare fraud – including Medicare and Medicaid Fraud
  • Mail fraud
  • Securities fraud
  • Computer fraud

If you’ve been notified by the government that you are the target of an investigation, or your business gets an unfriendly visit from people bearing warrants, get a lawyer involved immediately.  Never underestimate the power of the government when they want something.  Once the prosecutor’s attention is focused on you, you are going to need help.  White collar crime investigations can be long, drawn out, and devastating to their target.  More than just jail time and fines are on the line. Your business reputation and career are at stake. 

The goal of any representation in a white collar investigation or indictment should be “holistic” in nature, keeping your stress level down, and to minimizing the impact that the investigation or charges may have on you.  These cases are sophisticated in nature, require lots of attention, and are always complex.  Some free advice on the house - choose your lawyer wisely.