Opinion ID: 791199
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Venue for Money Laundering — Gomez

Text: 41 Gomez, individually, contends that the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri lacked venue over the money laundering charges filed against him. According to Gomez, because all the facts supporting money laundering occurred in California, the district court in Missouri was not a place of proper venue. For support, Gomez relies entirely on United States v. Cabrales, 524 U.S. 1, 118 S.Ct. 1772, 141 L.Ed.2d 1 (1998). 42 In Cabrales, the United States Supreme Court held that Missouri was not a place of proper venue for money laundering offenses which were begun, conducted and completed in Florida even though the sums which defendant deposited were allegedly derived from illegal narcotics activity in Missouri. As in Cabrales, the actual money laundering portion of Gomez's crime spree occurred wholly within the state of California. Significantly, in Cabrales, the Court carefully prefaced the opinion by explaining that the defendant was neither alleged to have transported funds from Missouri to Florida, nor was she charged with participation in the illegal activity in Missouri. Cabrales, 524 U.S. at 4, 118 S.Ct. 1772. The Supreme Court approved of our pronouncement that [m]oney laundering . . . might rank as a `continuing offense,' triable in more than one place, if the launderer acquired the funds in one district and transported them into another. Id. at 8, 118 S.Ct. 1772. Also, the Court was careful to explain that Cabrales was not charged with a conspiracy that would link her to the acts perpetrated in Missouri. Id. at 7, 118 S.Ct. 1772. 43 In this case, Gomez was charged with causing money obtained by fraud to be transported from Missouri to California. In addition, Gomez was charged with a conspiracy linking him to fraudulent acts committed in Missouri. Gomez was convicted of interstate transportation of property stolen by fraud. As such, this case is distinguishable from Cabrales. We conclude that venue was proper in Missouri, a state where much of the fraud perpetrated by Gomez was initiated. See Prosper v. United States, 218 F.3d 883 (8th Cir.2000) (holding that venue was proper for participation in a money-laundering conspiracy in which defendant, who had entered a guilty plea, admitted to commission of overt acts in the jurisdiction where he was tried). 7