What Activities Are Classified as Money Laundering?

Generally speaking, the Tennessee Code defines money laundering as a criminal offense that has one, “knowingly use, conspire to use, or attempt to use proceeds derived directly or indirectly from a specified unlawful activity to conduct or attempt to conduct a financial transaction or make other disposition with the intent to conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, or control of the criminally derived proceeds.” Unfortunately, you may find yourself being put under arrest for money laundering awaiting a potential criminal conviction. If this is your case, then please continue reading to learn the activities that can be classified as money laundering and how one of the experienced Montgomery County criminal defense lawyers at Fendley and Birch can help reduce or eliminate the possible penalties you are being threatened with.

What types of activities can be classified as money laundering?

Of note, an unlawful activity commonly associated with the act of money laundering is drug possession with intent to sell. This is because an individual earning a large profit off selling drugs may hesitate to make one large deposit into their bank account and prompt their financial institution to report this currency transaction. Therefore, they may choose to split this profit into small amounts and deposit them in increments over a long period. They may even move this money around several accounts to make it more difficult to identify its origin. This money laundering tactic is otherwise known as surfing or structuring and counterfeiting.

Without further ado, below are other common techniques in which money may be laundered:

• Bulk cash smuggling: this is if you physically move money across international borders to conceal its origin.
• Money muling: this is if you transfer the proceeds of a crime through your bank account to help the criminal who owns this money.
• Blending funds with cash-intensive businesses: this is if you mix your illegitimate money with the money that a business earned legitimately.
• Trade-based money laundering: this is if you use illegitimate money to purchase legitimate goods and investments.

What are the types of penalties for money laundering in Tennessee?

Regardless of the strategy you used to launder money, you may be charged with a Class B felony in the state of Tennessee. This may be punishable by penalties such as a prison sentence of up to 30 years and a fine of up to $25,000. Importantly, if your money laundering is linked to a drug crime (i.e., drug possession with intent to sell), the government may also pursue federal charges against you. Lastly, if you involved a business owner who knowingly handled your illegitimate funds, they may be up against a Class E felony. This may be associated with a fine of up to $5,000 and a forfeiture of the assets.

If you require legal representation, look no further than one of the experienced Montgomery County criminal defense lawyers. The client testimonials on our website speak for themselves, saying that you will not regret hiring the team at Fendley and Birch.