The manager and anti-money laundering compliance officer of a Los Angeles check-cashing business on Monday were sentenced for criminal violations of the Bank Secrecy Act stemming from failures to report $8 million in transactions.
The manager of G&A Check Cashing, Karen Gasparian, was sentenced to five years in prison while the AML compliance officer, Humberto Sanchez, was sentenced to eight months behind bars. Gasparian, along with G&A, were ordered to forfeit nearly $250,000. The business was also ordered to pay a fine of nearly $1 million.
"Karen Gasparian, Humberto Sanchez and their company G&A Check Cashing purposefully thwarted the Bank Secrecy Act, making it easier for others to use G&A to commit illegal activity," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer. "They knew they were required to report transactions over $10,000, but deliberately failed to do so. As this case shows, check cashing businesses must adhere to our anti-money laundering rules, or else pay the consequences."
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