Opinion ID: 710962
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Money Laundering Statute

Text: 15 Michael Gilbert was also convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1956(a)(2), which prohibits the transporting of funds from a place in the United States to or through a place outside the United States intending to conceal the source of the funds and knowing that the funds are the proceeds of unlawful activity. 16 The jury, as shown on the special verdict form used, 10 found that Gilbert intended to further the laundering scheme by causing the transfer of $9.5 million from Switzerland to Luxembourg. The jury, however, also found that Gilbert did not cause the transfer of this same money from the United States to Switzerland. Gilbert argues that these findings do not support a conviction under the money laundering statute because the statute does not criminalize transfers which are not to or from the United States. See 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1956(a)(2)(B)(i). 17 The United States makes two arguments which attempt to reconcile the jury's special verdict with the statutory requirements. First, it argues that the statute is satisfied because Gilbert's acts in Europe were part of a continuing transaction which originated in the United States. 18 But, the statute does not make money laundering a continuing offense. The statutory language and legislative history indicate that each transaction or transfer of money constitutes a separate offense. See S.Rep. No. 433, 99th Cong.2d Sess. 12-13 (1986); U.S. v. Conley, 826 F.Supp. 1536, 1543-44 (W.D.Pa.1993) (concluding that unit of prosecution is each individual financial transaction). 19 The jury found that Gilbert was involved in only one transaction, and the transaction was totally outside of this country. Because this transaction is separate from the one originating in the United States and because money laundering is not a continuing offense, Gilbert's conviction cannot be upheld on this basis. 11 20 In the alternative, the government argues that Gilbert aided and abetted the transfer of funds from the United States by his participation in the European transaction. This argument also must fail in the light of the jury's special verdict. The jury was instructed that a defendant who aids and abets another person is responsible for the conduct of that other person just as though the defendant engaged in the conduct himself. Thus, the jury would have indicated that Gilbert committed the transfer of funds from the United States had they found him to be either a principal or an aider in this transfer. 21 By its verdict, the jury found that Gilbert had not caused the transfer of funds from the United States to Switzerland either directly or as an aider and abetter. As such, the jury's special verdict does not support a conviction under section 1956. The conviction for money laundering must be reversed. 22