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September 2, 2010 |
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| March 24, 2008 |
By: John Pacenti |
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ederal prosecutors say Colombian national Francisco Restrepo really wanted a 1998 McDonnell Douglas MD 600 helicopter.
The government seized $1.5 million earmarked for the purchase in 2006, but Restrepo apparently didn't give up.
The federal government is trying to seize another $1.3 million deposited for the purchase in an escrow account at an Oklahoma City title company, claiming the money came from international money transfers promoting illegal activity.
The deal came to the attention of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service in an investigation of illicit aircraft purchases by drug traffickers, according to a forfeiture action filed March 7 by Assistant U.S. Attorney Arimentha Walkins in Miami. Aircraft purchases have the twin advantages of obtaining transportation to move drugs and laundering profits.
The intended seller was Frederick Webber, who was arrested in 1983 for alleged possession of a kilogram of cocaine.
In the aborted 2006 deal, investigators concluded Restrepo and his Colombian aviation company, Taxi Aereo Caribeno, were fronts for the ultimate buyer: charter flight operator Sociedad Aeronautica de Santander in Medellin.
“The investigation revealed that drug traffickers often purchase airplanes in the names of other persons or companies called nominees or register them under shell corporations," the complaint said. "Meanwhile, the drug trafficker will continue to exercise dominion and control over the airplanes, either directly or indirectly."
Prosecutors contend that drug traffickers used multiple wire transfers to move money for at least 30 days among multiple third-party bank accounts in different geographical areas or countries.
The investigators claim some of the money movements amounted to standard laundering.
"In many instances, the airplane escrow company received directions to divert portions of the funds for purchase of an aircraft to other unrelated transactions," according to the complaint.
DEA and IRS investigators examined suspect plane purchases and found numerous planes had been purchased through airplane escrow companies in Oklahoma City for export to Colombia and Venezuela, according to court documents.
Other purchases were financed through the Mexican black market peso exchange.
At least four forfeiture complaints have been filed in the Southern District of Florida since December targeting aircraft purchased or about to be purchased by alleged drug dealers.
"The investigation revealed that a significant percentage of the funding activity for illegal aircraft purchases involves international third-party wire transfers originating from currency exchange businesses located throughout Mexico," according to a forfeiture complaint filed Dec. 20 seizing a 1973 Aero Commander 690.
The pressurized twin-turbo prop plane can carry about 1˝ tons of cargo. The model is preferred by drug traffickers because they can fly at high altitudes to evade authorities, according to the documents.
At last week's annual International Money Laundering Conference & Exhibition in Hollywood, where about 1,300 participants in the field gathered to swap information, many said traffickers and illicit aircraft go hand in hand.
But rather than use third-party planes, some traffickers can double down by funneling their ill-gotten gains into purchases through straw buyers.
Mike McDonald, a former IRS investigator who now runs his own consulting business in Miami, said it has been getting easier for drug dealers to hide their ownership of big-ticket items.
"They aren't going to buy an airplane in their name. Unfortunately, the proliferation of LLCs (limited liability companies) and corporations has hampered the ability to identify the legitimate owners," he said.
Lilly Ann Sanchez, a shareholder in Fowler White Burnett's Miami office, co-chairs the firm's white-collar criminal defense practice group and is a former deputy of the major crimes section at the U.S. attorney's office in Miami.
She said drug dealers need big-ticket purchases for large-scale laundering.
"Drug dealers have been using different forms of laundering money for many years," Sanchez said. "Different types of laundering funds come into fashion at one time or another, and buying planes has been around for quite some time."
Sanchez said part of her job is to alert her clients to the telltale signs that a customer may be using them to launder wealth from criminal activity.
She said another big trend is laundering narcotics proceeds through Europe since the euro is worth more than the dollar and cocaine can net double the profits.
“Any law firm or escrow company that deals with foreign money accounts needs to follow some sort of due diligence to assure they do not do anything to get them in trouble," Sanchez said.
Both McDonald and Sanchez said escrow companies could be on the hook in drug investigations, but no charges appear to have been filed against them in federal courts based in Oklahoma City or Miami.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Miami said it had no comment on the cases because of on-going investigations. The IRS and DEA was equally mum.
Stewart Lapayowker, a Boca Raton attorney with Goldstein Lapayowker who assists buyers and sellers in aircraft purchases aircraft, said the number one rule is "know your customer."
"Banks are very careful," he said. "They ask their customers a variety questions. Who they are and where is the equity coming from?"
Further investigation is needed when customers are unfamiliar or foreign, he said. Lenders need to consult the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security's Unverified List.
The agency posts red flags with the names and nationalities of foreigners and foreign companies who were parties to transactions in which the Commerce Department agency "could not conduct a pre-license check or a post-shipment verification for reasons out of the U.S. government's control," according to the bureau’s Web site.
"You need to exercise common sense when working on any transaction, especially with a foreign national," Lapayowker said.
The Washington-based General Aviation Manufacturers Association put out guidelines in 2002 on anti-money laundering procedures and practices. Aircraft makers set another sales record last year, fueled by sales overseas.
Lapayowker warned to watch for multiple wire transfers, which investigators saw in the Restrepo case.
At first, the purchase documents for the helicopter with tail number N600WF listed Restrepo and his company, Taxi Aereo Caribeno, as the buyers.
"None of the $1,502,443.80 designated for the purchase of the N600WF aircraft came from Taxi or Restrepo," the forfeiture complaint charged.
After that money was seized in November 2006, agents learned last May that Restrepo was back at it again on behalf of the Medellin company. He had contacted a flight instructor in Mesa, Ariz., about training Colombian pilots.
The investigation revealed a $100,000 deposit had been paid by the listed buyer, Continental Commercial Transport in Colombia, to Insured Aircraft Title Services in Oklahoma City. The title company did not return a call for comment.
From last April to June, about $1.4 million in wire transfers were moved to the escrow account from three accounts, two owned by Continental and one a Credit Suisse account in Switzerland in the name of another company.
The seller's broker e-mailed the title company last May, saying he was concerned "because the last time he tried to sell the helicopter to the gentlemen from the south of the United States the money were seized," the complaint said.
Four Colombian pilots visited a flight instructor in Mesa the same month and said they were flying to Montana to buy the helicopter and would head to Fort Lauderdale to mount external fuel tanks.
The complaint maintains the $1.5 million loss to the U.S. government in 2006 didn't deter the Colombian buyer from trying again to buy the same helicopter.
As Lapayowker notes, "When bad people want to do bad things, they are going to find a way to do it."
Economy a hot topic at money-laundering conference
The hot topic at the money-laundering conference last week was how banks can satisfy regulators with increasingly tight budgets in a souring economy.
Another conference theme was how the subprime crisis creates fertile ground for scamsters.
"We've had some great debates," said Charles Intriago, publisher of Money Laundering Alert and sponsor of the four-day event.
He warned regulators are ready to "zap" any financial institution that runs afoul. “You better have controls in place."
Allen Love, who heads GE Commercial Finance’s anti-money-laundering unit in New York, said the conference is a good source of ideas to take back to the home office.
"You can be an unwilling participant in a money-laundering crime. You need safeguards," Love said.
Steve Beattie, who works for accounting firm Ernst & Young in New York, said there's a lot of increased regulatory pressure.
"The penalties are severe," he said. "Your firm's reputation is at stake if you don't get it right."
His firm released an anti-money-laundering survey last month that found 84 percent of the financial institutions surveyed don't believe increased regulation is a passing fade.
More than 30 percent of the respondents spent $10 million to $50 million in the last year on people, technology and help to shore up their anti-money laundering monitoring.
"This emphasis is not going to abate," Beattie said. "This is a complex issue to get right."
John Pacenti can be reached at jpacenti@alm.com or at (305) 347-6638.
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