The crime of money laundering occurs if you deposit or transfer money into a bank account to make it look like it is the proceeds of a legal business, but it is actually the proceeds of illegal activities, such as the sale of illicit drugs or the payment of bribes or kickbacks. Unless you plead guilty, the court can only convict you of money laundering if prosecutors can prove that you knew that the money was the result of illegal dealings. To be acquitted, you do not have to prove with certainty that you did not know; it is much easier to prove with certainty that something happened than to prove with certainty that something did not happen. Rather, you must only show that there is a reasonable doubt about whether you knew, and that there is another plausible explanation for why you made the transactions, besides the interpretation that the prosecution is offering.
If you are being accused of money laundering, but you know that you are an innocent party, unaware of the corruption that was going on around you, contact a Texas white collar crime lawyer.
Maybe That Backpack Full of Cash Is Totally Innocent
Several years ago, a Dallas man pleaded guilty to money laundering charges after he received backpacks full of money from an undercover officer, whom he thought was a drug dealer, and deposited the money in what appeared to be bank accounts of legitimate businesses that dealt in cash, such as coin laundromats and car washes. The defendant pleaded guilty, received a five-year prison sentence, and lost his professional license.
Things might have gone differently if he had pleaded not guilty. Perhaps he could have argued that he reasonably believed that the money in the backpack had come from a coin laundry. To acquit him, the jurors would not need to be entirely sure that he did not know that the money was dirty. They must only agree that the prosecution did not definitively prove that the defendant knew about the illegal origin of the money. For example, the prosecution might have introduced evidence where the defendant communicated with the undercover officer about the backpack before it arrived. If the text messages make an unambiguous reference to the backpack being full of drug money, it makes sense for the jury to convict. If they do not, then there is still room for reasonable doubt, so the jury should acquit. There might even be room for more than one plausible interpretation of the text messages. This would be especially likely if the defendant and the undercover officer communicated through euphemisms and emojis. Consider that, several years ago, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) published a list of emojis commonly found in text message exchanges about drugs, and all of them also have common interpretations unrelated to drugs.
Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC, About Criminal Defense Cases
A Dallas criminal defense lawyer can help you fight your charges if you are being accused of laundering drug money. Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC in Dallas, Texas to discuss your case.