In the past month, federal prosecutors opened a new front in their battle against financial misconduct with the announcement of the first criminal prosecution for fraud under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Charles Antonucci, former president of the Park Avenue Bank of New York, was arrested Monday morning and charged with embezzlement, bribery, and allegedly trying to defraud the TARP program of $11.2 million.
On February 10, 2010, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, issued new regulations to allow foreign law enforcement agencies, as well as state and local law enforcement agencies, to obtain certain information from banks and other “financial institutions,” as that term is defined by the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), concerning significant money laundering or terrorist financing investigations.
On January 22, 2010, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) reported that filings of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) during the first six months of 2009 for check fraud increased for all of the industries required to file SARs under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), as compared to the first six months of 2008.
For example, SAR filings by depository institutions increased by 19% for check fraud and by 36% for instances of suspected counterfeit checks. Similarly, BSA-covered entities in the securities, futures, and insurance industries increased their filings of SARs by 19% for check fraud. Money services businesses (MSBs) increased their SAR filings for fraud involving Traveler’s Checks by 76%. Reports filed by casinos of check fraud rose by 18% while reports for unusual use of checks rose by 16%.
The Government, Regulatory and Criminal Investigations Department of McGuireWoods LLP launched the Subject to Inquiry blog in 2010. The blog, which features attorneys from the firm's GRCI Department, takes a look at topics, trends and cases in our industry that may be of interest to our clients or those following these aspects of the law addressed in the blog.
Add this blog