Two Caribbean-based men have been sentenced to 14 months in prison for conspiring to launder and conceal millions of dollars in offshore accounts. Eric St-Cyr, 50, and Patrick Poulin, 41, Canadian citizens, pleaded guilty to laundering monetary instruments and concealing funds in a U.S. District Court in Virginia.
According to court documents, St-Cyr and Poulin worked with Joshua Vandyk, a 34-year-old U.S. citizen, who was previously sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in the scheme. The three men conspired to hide $2 million believed to be the proceeds of bank fraud through an offshore structure.
The men assisted undercover law enforcement agents posing as U.S. clients in laundering the money, which was then invested on the clients’ behalf without being reported to the U.S. government. St-Cyr and Poulin represented to the undercover agents that the funds would not be reported to the U.S. government.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ronald A. Cimino stated that the sentences imposed by the court show that those who use offshore accounts and entities for money laundering and tax evasion will be punished. The investigation involved extensive undercover activity and cooperation from multiple foreign law enforcement agencies.
U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente added that the defendants played a shell game by creating offshore entities designed to help their U.S. clients evade taxes and other legal requirements, and used that same shell game to launder purported criminal proceeds.
Chief of IRS-Criminal Investigation Richard Weber stated that the investigation reinforces the commitment to investigate and prosecute criminals worldwide who conduct illegal financial transactions, launder money, or attempt to conceal the true source of their income in order to evade paying taxes.
St-Cyr and Poulin were sentenced to 14 months in prison and three years of supervised release each. The case serves as a warning to those involved in similar schemes that the IRS will pursue and prosecute those who attempt to evade taxes and conceal their income.
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