ARE WE NOW SEEING EFFECTIVE SENTENCING IN THE UNITED STATES FOR MONEY LAUNDERERS?

 

This week's financial crime news included a six and one-half year sentence being handed down in  a Federal California case, in the Los Angeles area, against ARMAN NIKOGOSYAN, for laundering three million dollars of fraudulently-obtained unemployment benefits obtained during the COVID crisis. The defendant, who has close to $200,000 in cash at his home when arrested, richly deserves that amount of time, but the case raises an important issue: why are many money launderers otherwise receiving short sentences in Federal Court?

I fully understand that many money laundering defendants not only plead guilty, but also assist law enforcement in the prosecution of others, in what we call the rendering of "Substantial Assistance,"  but in most cases, they are allowed to plead to a SINGLE money laundering conspiracy charge. This does not effectively deter others from engaging in money laundering, in my humble opinion. In fact, it gives individuals who are contemplating criminal action a false sense of security; at worst, they may have to serve two years or less, and if they artfully and carefully hid the proceeds of their crimes, they can come back out of prison and enjoy those illicitly-earned profits.

When I was serving a term in Federal Prison for money laundering, there was another inmate there who had been previously convicted, and incarcerated, under short sentences, six times! What's wrong with that picture? He had never served a sufficiently long sentence to give him pause before jumping right into criminal conduct upon release, several times. These short sentence for money laundering, which is a twenty year felony, must cease to be meted out, if we are to actually practice deterrence.

Perhaps this 6 1/2 sentence is the shape of things to come; if so I welcome it, for what has gone on in the past is not working.