Atlantic City Money Laundering

Most of us are pretty naive about the criminal elements and how money is laundered, yet from accounts of this practice written elsewhere, the articles below raise significant issues.

As it was explained, the proceeds of criminal activities are wire transferred or large deposits are made at casinos, then 'cashed out' or wire transferred elsewhere - making the illegal funds laundered. Casinos are used as intermediaries to avoid bank reporting requirements.

It would seem that the sole reason the cases below were pursued is that the money didn't exist - the casinos were cheated out of their money.



Police: Vienna man cashed forged check for $250K at casino
By Justin Jouvenal

A Vienna law firm administrator is wanted after he allegedly cashed a forged $250,000 check at an Atlantic City casino and then fled the country, according to police and a search warrant.
Fairfax County police have issued an arrest warrant for Michael Payam Oveysi, 36, of Vienna, in the alleged scheme, which is strikingly similar to one a Vienna lawyer was convicted of carrying out in 2003.

Oveysi deposited two checks worth nearly $130,000 at a TD Bank in Vienna on January 20, according to the search warrant filed in Fairfax County Circuit Court. The checks were drawn on the account of a company called the American Iranian Kurdish Community, Inc., which had less than $100 in the bank at the time, according to the search warrant.

State records list Oveysi as the president of the company.

On January 21, Oveysi went back to the same bank and withdrew $8,000 in cash and got a $250 cashier’s check, according to the search warrant.

Later that day, he presented a digitally altered-version of the cashier’s check for $250,000 at the Borgata in Atlantic City and later cashed out for more than that amount of money, according to the search warrant.

Three days later Oveysi, his wife and son boarded a flight out of the United States after presenting foreign passports with fictitious names and dates of birth, according to the search warrant. Police did not disclose the destination of the flight.

Police executed a search warrant on Oveysi’s Porsche SUV and his Vienna home on Feb. 7 and carted off two computers, numerous guns and a filing cabinet among other things.

Oveysi worked at the Tysons Law Group in Vienna for about a year, helping out with immigration cases, said Ron Coleman, an attorney at the firm.

A biography of Ovesyi on a web listing for the Tysons Law Group said he is a first-generation Kurdish Iranian-American, who immigrated in his teens and attended Annadale High School.

Coleman said Oveysi was hardworking and he had no indication he was in any type of trouble.
“I can’t tell you how shocked I am,” Coleman said. “I had no reason to suspect he would ever be charged.”

Robert M. Short, a Vienna attorney, pleaded guilty to fraud charges for allegedly embezzling nearly $500,000 from his firm in 2003. In that case, Short allegedly wired $250,000 of the money to the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, cashed out and later fled to Argentina.

He eventually returned to the United States and turned himself in.


D.C. Forgery Charges Alleged Casino
March 21, 2012
Posted In: White Collar
By Daniel A. Gross on March 21, 2012

A man is alleged to have forged a $250,000 check - which he cashed - at a casino in a strange case of fraud and forgery.

As of right now, he is still wanted and believed to have fled the country.

Washington D.C. criminal defense attorneys know that forgery and fraud are outlined in DC ST 22-1510. What the law essentially says is this: check fraud over $100 is a felony. You can face thousands of dollars in fines and up to three years in prison. For any amount under $100, it's considered a misdemeanor, for which you'll face a maximum $1,000 fine and 180 days in jail.

Laws can vary from state to state.

This case reportedly involved a Vienna man who cashed the check at a casino in Atlantic City, NJ. According to authorities, the situation is very similar to another case that occurred in 2003.

Here, a 36-year-old reportedly deposited two checks totaling more than $130,000 into a Maryland bank at the end of January. The account that they were deposited into reportedly had less than $100 in it at the time, and was in the name of an incorporated company - of which the suspect is president.

The next day, the suspect went back to the bank and took out several thousand dollars in cash, as well as a cashier's check for a few hundred dollars. Then, that afternoon, he took a version of that check that had been digitally altered to say $250,000 to a casino in Atlantic City. He then cashed it for that amount.

He and his wife have reportedly fled the country, boarding a plane using passports that showed phony names and birth dates, according to police. Authorities did not reveal where that flight was headed, though he was Kurdish Iranian-American.

Two weeks later, investigators searched the suspect's home, taking with them computers, guns and filing cabinets. He worked at a local law office, assisting with immigration cases, according to his co-workers. His biography indicated he had immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager.

Those who worked with him expressed shock an dismay - though it's important to remember, we don't yet have all the facts.

Another strikingly similar case involved an attorney in Vienna who was alleged to have embezzled almost half a million dollars from the firm for which he worked. He then wired half of that to a casino in Atlantic City, cashed it and then took off to Argentina. He was reported to have returned to the U.S. eventually and turned himself into authorities.

These types of cases are typically more complex than the typical theft or simple check forgery, and really require the skill of an experienced Washington D.C. white collar crimes attorney.