Western Union Admits Criminal Violations

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According to an FTC announcement made Thursday afternoon, “In its agreement with the Justice Department, Western Union admits to criminal violations including willfully failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and aiding and abetting wire fraud.” The time period covered is between 2004 and 2012.

They will pay $586 million and implement anti-fraud programs.

Persons who believe they were victims of the fraud scheme should visit the Department of Justice’s victim website at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-mlars/remission   for instructions on how to request compensation through the Victim Asset Recovery Program.

Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section Direct Line: (202) 514-1263.

The announcement says:

“According to admissions contained in the deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the Justice Department and the accompanying statement of facts, Western Union violated U.S. laws—the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-fraud statutes—by processing hundreds of thousands of transactions for Western Union agents and others involved in an international consumer fraud scheme.”

“Western Union’s failure to implement proper controls and discipline agents that violated compliances policies enabled the proliferation of illegal gambling, money laundering and fraud-related schemes. Western Union’s conduct resulted in the processing of hundreds of millions of dollars in prohibited transactions. Today’s historic agreement, involving the largest financial forfeiture by a money service business, makes it clear that all corporations and their agents will be held accountable for conduct that circumvents compliance programs designed to prevent criminal conduct,” according to Wilfred Ferrer of Florida.

Here are the federal agencies involved:

FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez; Acting Assistant Attorney General David Bitkower of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Bruce D. Brandler of the Middle District of Pennsylvania; U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker of the Central District of California; Acting U.S. Attorney Louis D. Lappen of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida; Inspector in Charge David W. Bosch of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Philadelphia Division; Special Agent in Charge Deirdre Fike of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office; Chief Richard Weber of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Special Agent in Charge Marlon V. Miller of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Philadelphia; and Special Agent in Charge Stephen Carroll of the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (FRB-CFPB OIG) Eastern Region made the announcement.

The full text of the announcement can be seen here:

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2017/01/western-union-admits-anti-money-laundering-violations-settles-consumer-fraud-charges-forfeits-586

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