Overview
Brian Heberlig, Galen Kast and Rose Beattie authored an article published by Law360, "3rd Circ. Ruling Limits Add-On Money Laundering Charges." The piece discusses US v. Fallon, a recent case where prosecutors unsuccessfully tried to tack on money laundering charges to a routine fraud case. The Third Circuit's ruling provides new limiting guidance on when a monetary transaction executed during and following the commission of an alleged fraud can be separately charged as money laundering.
The authors provided key takeaways following Fallon: "Money laundering charges will likely continue to be an attractive option for prosecutors looking to ratchet up the potential penalties in fraud cases. While not a silver bullet, Fallon reinforces at least three potential defenses to such piled-on allegations, and foreshadows a potential new prosecution theory of concealment money laundering."
