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The popular media image of money laundering is when someone's true source of income is the sale of illegal drugs, but to prevent police from finding out, he opens a business such as a car wash or a casual dining restaurant. The legal business gets most of its payments in cash, so
when the business owner records the company's income in the company's accounting books, he makes it look like some of the drug money is actually money that restaurant customers spent on food. With cash payments, it is difficult for investigators to be sure how much cash customers truly spend at the restaurant on a given day.
Cash-only businesses are not the only kind of money laundering; sometimes, people put their
illegally obtained earnings into real estate instead. Sometimes, money laundering does not
involve cash at all. What does this have to do with you, since you don't sell drugs and don't have
enough money to qualify for a home mortgage, let alone pay for a house in cash? Money
laundering is often a matter of conspiracy, so it is possible to get criminal charges for helping
someone else conceal the source of illegally obtained money. If you are under investigation because of your alleged connection to a shady real estate transaction, contact a Texas white-collar crime lawyer.
Everything Is Bigger in Texas, Even Real Estate Properties Bought With Dirty Money
Over the past few years, the Department of the Treasury has set stricter rules about real estate
purchases, in an effort to prevent money laundering. People involved in real estate closings,
such as real estate agents and real estate lawyers, must disclose additional data about real
estate transactions considered high risk for money laundering. These include transactions where the buyer or seller is a company instead of an individual and transactions where the buyer pays for the property in full instead of financing it with a mortgage loan.
Thus, the real estate industry in Texas and Florida has disproportionately come under scrutiny;
these wild and wonderful corners of the Sun Belt are popular places to buy glamorous mansions
with dirty money. Closing agents and other parties connected to the transaction must disclose
the names of the people who benefit from the transaction, even if their names are nowhere on
the operating agreement of the LLC that bought the house.
Could You Get in Trouble for Someone Else's Dubious Real Estate Transactions?
While the new laws have prevented some shady real estate transactions, they have also
produced false positives and false negatives. Regarding the latter, the new regulations only
apply to residential real estate, so buying strip malls and other commercial properties with dirty
money is still a booming business. Furthermore, the professionals involved in the transaction
often do not know the truth about the troubled past of the money changing hands. They might
only know an alias or the name of a fall guy. Despite this, if you work in the real estate industry,
you should hire a criminal defense lawyer if you think a real estate transaction you are being
asked to facilitate is shady.
Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC About Criminal Defense Cases
A Dallas criminal defense lawyer can help you protect yourself from prosecution for real estate
money laundering conspiracy. Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC, in Dallas,
Texas, to discuss your case.