Money Laundering Attorney

The Law Offices of Allen Sawyer serve clients across California from its Stockton, Sacramento, and San Jose locations. Known for providing aggressive criminal defense for clients facing charges at both state and federal levels, California criminal defense attorney Allen Sawyer is experienced in taking on tough federal prosecutors in complex money laundering cases.

Effective California Money Laundering Defense 

Money laundering is a serious federal crime punishable by severe consequences. If you’ve been arrested for money laundering, you’ll need a seasoned federal defense lawyer capable of confronting powerful federal agencies that are keen on securing a conviction. Federal criminal defense attorney Allen Sawyer possesses in-depth knowledge of federal anti-money laundering laws and has experience building effective money laundering defense strategies. Facing allegations of money laundering is serious, and it’s likely that prosecutors with extensive resources have begun a thorough investigation to collect evidence against you. By contacting The Law Offices of Allen Sawyer immediately, your likelihood of achieving a positive result will significantly improve.

What Is Money Laundering?

Money laundering can be defined as an action to fake the legitimacy of illegally obtained money, such as by obscuring its source, disguising its amount, or concealing its destination. Typically employing fraud, embezzlement, drug trafficking, or other criminal activity to unlawfully source the money, people then utilize complex means to conceal it from federal law enforcement agencies, which can involve channeling it through various banks or businesses and implementing complicated financial transactions. The money that is finally withdrawn from what appear to be legitimate accounts appears to be “clean.”

Money laundering is often connected with the following federal crimes:

• Bank and securities fraud
• Mortgage fraud
• Credit card fraud
• Drug trafficking
• Tax fraud
• And other crimes

Money Laundering Is a Federal Crime

Federal statutes 18 U.S.C. § 1956 and 18 U.S.C. § 1957 make it a crime to transfer money gained via illegal means through lawful channels in an effort to disguise how the funds were obtained:

• 18 U.S.C. § 1956-This statue defines money laundering as committed by persons who intentionally and knowingly conceal the nature, ownership, location, or source of illegally obtained funds or properties and who conduct or attempt to conduct financial transactions involving said funds or properties or using transport, transfer, or transmission to move such funds or property.
• 18 U.S.C. § 1957– This statue says a person commits money laundering when he or she knowingly conducts or attempts to conduct a monetary transaction involving property gotten by criminal means with a value exceeding $10,000.

Money laundering convictions can result in fines upwards of $500,000 and/or prison sentences up to 20 years.