Community Leaders Arrested by FBI

On July 23, 2009 the FBI arrested a total of 44 New York and New Jersey community leaders in a political corruption and money laundering bust. The arrestees included mayors, lawmakers and rabbis. These individuals were charged in connection with a two-track federal investigation of public corruption and a high-volume, international money laundering conspiracy.

Most of the defendants were arrested by federal agents, led by Special Agents of the FBI Newark Division and IRS Criminal Investigation Division. Search warrants were executed for approximately 30 locations in New Jersey and New York to recover large sums of cash and other evidence of criminal conduct. Also, 28 seizure warrants were executed against bank accounts.

All of the arrests were linked to a single FBI witness who first assisted law enforcement with infiltrating a pre-existing money laundering network that operated internationally and laundered tens of millions of dollars through charitable, non-profit entities controlled by rabbis in New York and New Jersey. The investigation produced hundreds of hours of video and audio recordings documenting much of the money laundering and bribe-taking.

What Is Public Corruption?

Public corruption is the violation of a public official's duty of faith toward the community and occurs when a public official takes something of value in exchange for promised official action. Public corruption can be committed on the local, state or federal level by anyone elected, appointed, hired or otherwise employed by a constituency of citizens.

Types of Public Corruption

Public corruption cases usually fall into one of five categories: legislative, judicial, regulatory, contractual and law enforcement. Legislative corruption and judicial corruption refer to deals that influence legislators and judges, respectively. Regulatory corruption deals with government investigators. Contractual corruption consists of illegal forms of persuasion connected to the distribution of government contracts. Law enforcement corruption refers to any improper attempt to persuade officers of the law.

If You Suspect Public Corruption Activities

If you come across evidence of public corruption activities you should:

For more information, you can visit an FBI field office's Web site. If you don't want to give your name, you may leave an anonymous tip.

What Is Money Laundering?

Money laundering is the practice of disguising illegally obtained funds so they seem legal. Criminals try to disguise the origins of money obtained through illegal activities so it looks like it was obtained from a legitimate source. Otherwise, the criminals wouldn't be able to use the money because it would connect them to the criminal activity and it would be seized by law enforcement officials.

According to the IRS, money laundering is the means by which criminals evade paying taxes on illegal income by concealing the source and the amount of profit. Money laundering is a very complex crime involving intricate details, often involving numerous financial transactions and financial outlets throughout the world.

If You Suspect Money Laundering

If you suspect a person or company of money laundering, you need to contact your local investigative authorities. You may also report the activity to the IRS by completing Form 3949-A or sending a letter.

Federal Money Laundering Laws

The federal government has enacted several laws to prevent money laundering:

• Bank Secrecy Act
• Money Laundering Control Act of 1986
• Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988
• Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act
• Money Laundering Suppression Act of 1994
• Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Strategy Act of 1998
• International Money Laundering Abatement and Financial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001
• Intelligence Reform & Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004

Questions for Your Attorney

• How are money laundering scams carried out?
• What should I do if I suspect a law enforcement officer of public corruption?
• If I want to report public corruption or money laundering activities to the authorities, can I remain anonymous?