Proposals to Reform the Federal Money Laundering Statutes
page 12
Although the Tenth Circuit, in Garcia-Emanuel, elaborately described the type and quantum of evidence necessary to support a conviction for money laundering, that circuit, in United States v. Salcido, nonetheless failed to apply its own test. See United States v. Salcido, 33 F.3d 1244 (10 th Cir. 1994) (holding that evidence was sufficient to support conviction for money laundering where defendant merely proposed that alleged drug proceeds be converted into large bills that could more easily be transported). This demonstrates that, unless Congress includes sufficient guidelines for courts to follow in determining what evidence is sufficient to support a finding of intent to conceal, the courts will continue to apply different standards, and, thus, reach inconsistent results. In order to assure uniformity among the circuits, and to confine “ concealment ” prosecutions to true acts of money laundering, the money laundering statute should be amended to reflect the well-reasoned analysis of the Tenth Circuit in Garcia-Emanuel.
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