A Los Angeles check cashing store and its employees were sentenced for violating anti-money laundering laws.
G&A Check Cashing, its head manager Karen Gasparian, 31, and its compliance officer Humberto Sanchez, 51, were sentenced in the Central District of California for failing to follow reporting and anti-money laundering requirements for over $8 million in transactions.
On October 2, 2012, G&A pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to fail to file currency transaction reports (CTRs) and one count of failing to have an effective anti-money laundering program.
Karen Gasparian pleaded guilty to the same charges on September 20, 2012, and Humberto Sanchez pleaded guilty to one count of failing to have an effective anti-money laundering program on October 2, 2012.
Judge John F. Walter sentenced G&A to pay a fine of $962,932 and sentenced the company to two years of probation. Karen Gasparian was sentenced to serve 60 months in prison and two years of supervised release. Humberto Sanchez was sentenced to serve eight months in prison and two years of supervised release.
The Bank Secrecy Act requires financial institutions to file CTRs for any transaction involving more than $10,000 in currency. The act also requires financial institutions to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program to detect and prevent attempts to facilitate money laundering.
G&A, Gasparian, and Sanchez failed to follow these requirements, resulting in multiple transactions involving $8,024,446 in which required CTRs were not filed.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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