Folsom-based Amani Investments LLC has agreed to forfeit $1 million in currency and a high-end Mercedes-Benz sedan as well as bitcoin to the federal government after pleading guilty to violating the reporting requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act.
Amani operated Coinucopia ATM kiosks that exchanged U.S. currency for bitcoin.
“Federal currency transaction reporting requirements are intended to protect our financial system from the influx of criminal proceeds,” said Phillip Talbert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, in a news release.
Amani Investments, which did business as Coinucopia, pleaded guilty in federal court in Sacramento to conspiring to avoid filing Currency Transaction Reports required under federal law.
Under the Bank Secrecy Act, money service businesses are required to report each transaction involving more than $10,000 in currency. Failure to report is a federal crime.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office on Tuesday said it finalized Amani Investments’ forfeiture order, which included a Mercedes-Benz E63, bitcoin, gold coins and $1 million in cash in U.S. currency.
Coinucopia representatives couldn't be reached by the Business Journal for comment. Amani Investments appears to have dissolved in December last year.
The U.S. Attorney in Sacramento initially filed suit in federal court in Sacramento at the end of February this year.
In attempts to track drug money and illegally gotten gains, lawmakers passed the Bank Secrecy Act in 1970. It requires bankers and money service businesses to keep tabs on customers moving large amounts of cash. The Bank Secrecy Act requires financial institutions to create a paper trail so authorities can follow money through the financial system. Provisions of that act were strengthened with the USA Patriot Act in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 2001, and banks are now also required to report any suspicious activities in a timely manner.
The Amani case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, as part of the Northern California Illicit Digital Economy Task Force. The task force includes the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the FBI, IRS – Criminal Investigation, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
