Buena Park, CA asked in Criminal Law and Banking for California

Q: Money laundering for client

If a client asked me to deposit cash into a bank account and I knew it could be considered money laundering but did it anyway and used my ID at the bank to deposit the cash, can I be found guilty along with them?

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2 Lawyer Answers

A: Aiding or abetting is an accomplice theory of liability for the predicate crime that an "accomplice" can be charged with in a criminal matter. If a person is charged under an accomplice theory, they can be charged and sentenced in the same manner as the "principal". Knowledge plays a large part in the formulation of the above theory. Discussion with an attorney (and only an attorney) regarding the specifics of the case is essential to determine possible liability.

Robert P. Cogan agrees with this answer

A: There is already an excellent legal analysis above. As a practical matter, if the hypothetical person knew it could be money laundering, it would be pretty hard to come up with an excuse as to why he or she acted innocently. Did the person get compensated? Was the deposit large? It is reasonably foreseeable that a judge or a prosecutor would be unsympathetic.

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