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上传时间: 2014-04-23 浏览次数:554次
Former Vancouver car dealership owner sentenced for money laundering
Wed, Apr 23, 2014
A former car salesman accused of helping gang members launder drug proceeds through his Vancouver dealership was sentenced to one year and one day in prison by a federal judge Tuesday.
U.S District Judge Marco Hernandez also ordered Eddie Bynum Sr. to pay $34,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and to serve two years of supervised release after completing his prison term.
“I’m just here to take responsibility for my crime, Your Honor,” Bynum, 54, told Hernandez.
Bynum pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering in November. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacie Beckerman, who prosecuted the case, and Bynum’s attorney, Jack Ransom, jointly recommended the prison term as part of the plea agreement.
Law enforcement suspected Bynum was laundering money through his Fountaine Motors dealership, according to a sentencing memorandum Beckerman filed.
An undercover IRS agent then approached Bynum in October 2010, saying he wanted to buy a 2005 Maserati with money earned from selling marijuana and cocaine. The agent said he didn't want anything in his name, the sentencing memorandum states.
The agent gave him $34,000 in cash, and Bynum titled the car in the agent’s purported girlfriend’s name, the filing states. He also failed to submit paperwork to the IRS required for cash purchases of more than $10,000.
The dealership has since closed. Bynum's prison term to begin on June 5.
-- Helen Jung