New York Money Laundering Defense Lawyers
Money laundering is a serious allegation in New York that can lead to a probing investigation for evidence of laundering and other crimes. Money laundering is often tied to organized crime and other criminal enterprises, meaning that money laundering allegations can spell only the beginning of your legal troubles. Even the fact of an investigation for money laundering can hurt your professional reputation and your financial security; formal charges threaten your freedom and your future.
If you are under investigation for money laundering, or if you’ve been charged with money laundering in Orange County, it is vital to get a trusted and experienced New York criminal defense lawyer on your side as soon as possible. A conviction for money laundering can ruin your business and derail your life. Call a diligent criminal defense lawyer at Dupée & Monroe in Goshen after your money laundering arrest to start building your case and protecting your rights.
Defining Money Laundering Under New York Law
Under New York law, a defendant can be convicted of money laundering when they engage in financial transactions involving the proceeds of criminal conduct or transport the proceeds of criminal conduct. The funds involved must be the proceeds of criminal conduct, and the defendant must know that those funds were the proceeds of criminal conduct. The defendant’s transaction must be designed to promote unlawful activity, evade U.S. reporting laws, and/or conceal the illegal source of the funds.
There are four degrees of money laundering. The severity of the charge depends upon the amount of money involved, the specific methods used to conceal the funds, and the nature of the unlawful conduct that led to the criminal proceeds. The more money involved and the more serious the underlying crime, the more serious the charge. Even fourth-degree money laundering, however, is chargeable as a felony.
The actual conduct giving rise to the money laundering charge can be any financial transaction or another method of moving funds, including payments, sales, wire transfers, purchases, loans, title transfers, deposits at financial institutions, etc. The prosecution must prove the funds derived from underlying criminal activity, such as bribery, robbery, extortion, burglary, drug trafficking, blackmail, theft, fraud, or other crimes yielding pecuniary gain.
Penalties for a New York Money Laundering Conviction
Money laundering is a felony under New York law, no matter the degree. The penalties range in severity depending upon the level of the offense:
- Money laundering in the fourth degree is a class E felony, punishable by up to four years in prison
- Money laundering in the third degree is a class D felony, punishable by up to seven years in prison
- Money laundering in the second degree is a class C felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison
- Money laundering in the first degree is a class B felony, punishable by up to 25 years in prison
A money laundering conviction is also punishable with heavy fines up to twice the value of the transactions involved. If you’re facing charges of money laundering, make sure you have a savvy and zealous New York criminal defense attorney on your side. With the right defense, you might be able to get the charges reduced or the case dropped entirely.
Federal Money Laundering
Money laundering is also prohibited under federal law. 18 U.S. Code § 1956 defines money laundering as conducting or attempting to conduct a financial transaction while knowing the property involved derived from specified unlawful activity, either to promote that unlawful activity, to conceal the nature of the proceeds of that unlawful activity, or to avoid a transaction reporting requirement under federal law.
Federal money laundering is chargeable as a civil offense or as a crime. Criminal federal money laundering is a felony, punishable by up to twenty years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
Get Help Fighting Your New York Money Charges
The lawyers at Dupée & Monroe have decades of experience helping people like you build the strongest defense possible against charges of money laundering or other crimes. If you have been arrested for money laundering or other offenses in Goshen, Orange County, or anywhere in the Hudson Valley region, reach out to Dupée & Monroe, P.C., for advice and representation from zealous New York criminal defense attorneys.
