Trust Glozman Law with Chicago Money Laundering Defense Attorney
It is the charge prosecutors add to make a case heavier. We take it apart.
Glozman Law defends individuals and companies against federal and Illinois money laundering, structuring, and related financial crime charges, and the asset seizures that come with them.
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IF YOU ARE FACING MONEY LAUNDERING ALLEGATIONS
Money Laundering Is Rarely Charged Alone. It Is the Charge That Makes Everything Worse.
Money laundering charges almost never arrive by themselves. They are attached to something else, an alleged fraud, a drug case, a tax matter, and they exist to raise the stakes. A money laundering count can carry a heavier sentence than the underlying offense it is built on, and it gives prosecutors a path to your assets and a way to tell a jury that you tried to hide the proceeds of a crime. That framing is powerful, and it has to be answered.
The government’s theory is that you took money it considers dirty and moved it to make it look clean. The defense usually lives in two places. Whether the underlying activity was actually criminal at all, and whether you knew the money came from it. Without that knowledge, the laundering charge does not hold, and proving what you knew is far harder for the government than its indictment makes it sound.
Statute referenced
Federal money laundering is charged under 18 U.S.C. § 1956, which carries up to twenty years in prison and a fine up to $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved. A related offense under 18 U.S.C. § 1957 covers transactions over $10,000 in criminally derived funds and carries up to ten years.
THE CHARGES AND HOW THEY STACK
Laundering, Structuring, and the Counts That Travel With Them
Financial crime statutes are written broadly, which lets prosecutors layer charges on top of a single set of transactions. The difference between the various counts is technical, but the combined exposure is not, and it is the combination that determines what you are really facing. Each statute has its own elements, and each is a separate place to mount a defense.
These are the charges that most often appear in a money laundering prosecution.
- Money laundering, 18 U.S.C. § 1956. Up to twenty years for conducting transactions to conceal the proceeds of unlawful activity.
- Monetary transactions, 18 U.S.C. § 1957. Up to ten years for spending more than $10,000 in criminally derived funds.
- Structuring, 31 U.S.C. § 5324. Breaking deposits into smaller amounts to dodge reporting rules, charged even where the underlying funds were lawful.
- The predicate offense. The alleged fraud, drug, or other crime the money supposedly came from, defended in tandem with the laundering counts.
- Forfeiture. Money laundering cases almost always seek to seize the assets involved, which is defended alongside the criminal charges.
HOW WE DEFEND MONEY LAUNDERING CASES
Attack the Knowledge, Attack the Predicate, Protect the Assets
The center of most money laundering defenses is what you actually knew. The statute requires that you understood the funds came from unlawful activity, and that is a high bar the government often cannot clear with the evidence it has. Legitimate business activity, ordinary transactions, and money with a lawful explanation are not laundering, no matter how the indictment characterizes them. We build the record that shows the difference.
We also go after the foundation. If the underlying offense was not a crime, or cannot be proven, the laundering charge built on top of it collapses with it. And because these cases almost always come with an effort to seize your accounts and property, we defend the forfeiture in parallel, so that winning the criminal case does not come at the cost of everything you own.
The Pre-Indictment Advantage
Financial cases are document-heavy and slow to build, which leaves room to intervene before charges are filed. Engaging counsel during the investigation can mean the difference between a negotiated resolution and a public indictment with frozen assets.
WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE GLOZMAN LAW
Federal Financial Crime Defense, Tried and Recognized
Vadim A. Glozman’s federal practice covers money laundering alongside the fraud, conspiracy, and forfeiture charges it travels with. He represents individuals and companies in complex financial prosecutions built by the DOJ and federal agencies.
Reasons clients choose the firm:
- A former-prosecutor’s read on your case. Charges are won or lost on how the government built the file. We pressure-test the theory the same way the people who assembled it would.
- You work directly with your attorney. You will not be handed off to a junior associate. Vadim A. Glozman stays on the case from the first call through resolution.
- Most of our best results are quiet. Many of our wins are cases that ended before an indictment, with no charge filed and no public record. Those outcomes are the goal, not the exception.
- Built for trial, resolved on our terms. We prepare every case as if it is going to a jury. That preparation is what gives negotiations their weight.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK
Money Laundering Charges, Answered
Money laundering cases are complex and rarely stand alone. These answers cover the questions we hear first. Your case needs its own analysis.
What does the government have to prove in a money laundering case?
Generally, the government must prove that a financial transaction involved the proceeds of unlawful activity and that you knew the funds came from a crime. That knowledge element is often the weakest part of the government’s case. Legitimate transactions and funds with a lawful explanation are not money laundering, and showing the court the real source and intent is central to the defense.
What are the penalties for money laundering?
Under 18 U.S.C. 1956, money laundering carries up to twenty years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved. A related charge under 18 U.S.C. 1957 carries up to ten years. Because these counts are usually stacked on top of an underlying offense, the combined exposure can be severe.
Why am I charged with money laundering on top of another crime?
Money laundering is frequently added to a fraud, drug, or tax case because it increases the potential sentence, opens the door to seizing assets, and strengthens the narrative prosecutors present to a jury. Recognizing that the laundering count depends on the underlying charge is important, because defeating or weakening the predicate offense undermines the laundering count as well.
What is structuring, and how is it different from money laundering?
Structuring, under 31 U.S.C. 5324, is breaking up cash transactions into amounts below $10,000 to avoid the reporting requirements banks must follow. It can be charged even when the money itself is entirely lawful, which surprises many people. It is a distinct offense from money laundering and is defended on different grounds, often turning on whether there was intent to evade reporting.
Can the government seize my assets in a money laundering case?
Yes. Money laundering prosecutions almost always include forfeiture efforts aimed at the accounts and property involved, and assets can be frozen early in a case. Defending the criminal charges and the forfeiture together is essential, so that a person is not stripped of resources before the case is even resolved.
WHERE WE PRACTICE
Chicago, Across Illinois, and in Federal Courts Nationwide
Federal money laundering cases here are prosecuted in the Northern District of Illinois, investigated by agencies including the FBI, DEA, and IRS Criminal Investigation. Illinois money laundering charges under 720 ILCS 5/29B-1 are handled through the Cook County and collar county courts.
Mr. Glozman represents clients in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, in the Cook County criminal courts at 26th and California, in suburban courthouses across the collar counties, and in federal districts around the country when a case calls for it. If a federal agency has opened a file on you, the office where the case sits matters less than how early and how well it is defended.
Related Defense Practices
Cases rarely stay in one lane. A single investigation can touch several of the areas below, and we handle them under one roof.
- Grand Jury Investigations
- Tax Evasion
- Healthcare Fraud
- Asset Forfeiture
Don’t Let the Added Charge Define the Case
A money laundering count is built to raise the stakes. Call for a confidential conversation about taking it apart before it goes any further.