US ANTI-ONLINE GAMBLING TRANSACTIONS TARGET FOR NEW
MARYLAND UNIT
25 September 2009
Formed just over a month ago, new unit is
behind recent actions against processors
The recent seizure warrant action taken against Maryland
e-cash processors in the United States (see previous
InfoPowa reports) is now believed to be the work of a
unit formed just over a month ago. The Baltimore office
of the group is managed by Stefan Cassella, who has
experience as an assistant state's attorney and as an
assistant attorney general in Maryland.
According
to the Daily Record newspaper, reporting on the
introduction of the new Asset Forfeiture and Money
Laundering Section on August 18, it is led by a Justice
Department veteran and US Attorney named Rod J.
Rosenstein and comprises a reshuffled group of three
prosecutors and two paralegals.
The US
Attorney's office said the general objective of the
section was "to go after the fruits and
instrumentalities of crime," a task that apparently now
includes online gambling transactions.
The
newspaper reported that Richard Kay, a longtime
prosecutor who has coordinated asset forfeiture in the
major crimes section in Baltimore for much of his
19-year tenure, and Christen Sproule, a government
lawyer in the Greenbelt office, are the other attorneys
specialising in forfeiture and restitution.
The
group will pursue both criminal and civil forfeiture
actions - a powerful weapon for federal prosecutors
because the civil standard of proof is only a
preponderance of the evidence, not beyond a reasonable
doubt.
In a civil forfeiture proceeding, anybody
who stakes a claim to the money has an obligation to
prove where it came from, Rosenstein said when the unit
was launched. Silence can be used against you in a civil
matter in a way it can't in a criminal matter, he added.
Rosenstein said that the new section will work with
state and local law enforcement as well, a partnership
that those offices "should be excited about because
federal forfeiture authority is much broader than that
of the state and because a substantial share of the
assets recovered will be returned to the local agency."
The Daily Record has also revealed that the new
group will also oversee the review of Suspicious
Activity Reports submitted by financial institutions to
the IRS and other federal agencies. Rosenstein called
the reports a tremendous source of intelligence that
have heretofore been under-utilised.
Casella came
in for special mention by Rosenstein, who described him
as one of the leading national experts on asset
forfeitures with a broad perspective on how such
programs are run across the country and a specialist who
has published on the topic.
Rounding out the
group are paralegals LaTonia Kelly and Naquita Ervin.
Unconfirmed reports are that agents using 'sting'
tactics have been involved in the unit's investigations
into specific online casinos, using their membership to
'follow the money trail' and target processors.
Online Casino News Courtesy of
Infopowa
More news here.
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