🕵🏾♀️👮🏼♂️LEOs & LinkedIn🚔🚨

🕵🏽♀️Investigators uncover the dark side of massage businesses in NJ with many tied to Human Trafficking. How to give a voice to the voiceless. Human trafficking is not just a moral atrocity It is a massive criminal enterprise generating billions annually. In New Jersey alone, more than 370 massage parlors have advertised sexual services in recent years, according to Polaris, a nonprofit dedicated to combating human trafficking. These illicit massage businesses generate an estimated $4.5 billion in annual profits nationwide, making them a significant part of the $150 billion global human trafficking industry. Financial crime investigators, AML professionals and front line staff at banks, crypto exchanges, and money service businesses play a crucial role in identifying and potentially saving victims from human trafficking. Red Flag Indicators of Human Trafficking in Massage Parlors 🚩Unusual Business Structure ↳Businesses with multiple employees sharing addresses or contact details. 🚩Inconsistent Expenses ↳Businesses lacking normal operating costs like adequate supplies or proper licensing fees. 🚩Structured Transactions ↳Be alert to repeated transfers of funds to the same third party, often in round amounts just under reporting thresholds. 🚩Irregular Wage Patterns ↳Note payments significantly below minimum wage or lack of proper payroll records. 🚩Cash-Intensive Operations ↳Message businesses often deal primarily in cash to avoid detection, with large cash deposits inconsistent with legitimate massage businesses. Victims of human trafficking, sex trafficking and forced labor often can't speak for themselves. However, financial transactions associated with this activity may be their only voice and speak volumes in court! By identifying, investigating and reporting suspicious activities, you could be instrumental in dismantling human trafficking networks and rescuing victims. The New Jersey Legislature has recognized the severity of this issue, introducing legislation to make unauthorized practice of massage therapies a crime of the third degree. ❓Is your community overrun with these types of businesses? Name it in the comment section and give a voice to the voiceless.

🕵🏽♀️+🤖= 💰 🛑Artificial Intelligence helps feds stop $1 billion in fraud. Law enforcement has a new tool in their financial crime fighting toolbox: AI. But not the kind you may be thinking about. Instead of relying on generative AI, the likes of ChatGPT or Gemini, authorities at U.S. Department of the Treasury are relying upon machine learning, the subset of #ai that excels at analyzing vast amounts of data and assisting investigators in making decisions based on what is learned. According to a new report by CNN, AI helped Treasury to sift through massive amounts of data and recover $1 billion worth of check fraud in fiscal year 2024. The Treasury Department delivers about 1.4 billion payments valued at nearly $7 trillion to 100 million people. It’s responsible for sending out everything from Social Security and Medicaid payments to federal worker paychecks, tax refunds and stimulus checks. This makes the Treasury a prime target for fraudsters who are using AI to commit these crimes. Treasury officials cite that “𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒑,” which is a must for any AI fraud and money laundering detection and investigative software solution to be effective. Global law enforcement and financial crime investigators can utilize AI powered tools like FinAware, to manage, organize, and analyze large amounts of financial data in a fraction of the time. These tools are leading to faster identification of assets and recoveries of fraudulently stolen money. AI powered investigative tools allow supervisors to reallocate resources to the investigations, while eliminating hours, days, and weeks of tedious data management. Prosecutors benefit from non-generative AI tools by being able to quickly identify evidence and build jury appealing graphs and charts. And it’s not only bank statements, FinAware is able to read, organize and analyze massive amounts of off-chain #cryptocurrency exchange data, including coin swaps and trading counterparties. 👀Want to see what AI looks like to a financial crime investigator? 📺https://lnkd.in/ejaehtih ❓ Do you believe law enforcement can keep up with the AI race with fraudsters, scammers and money launderers? https://lnkd.in/eq6GEViz

IAFCI chapter events are great opportunities to connect & network with the local anti-financial crime community. International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators NY Metro Chapter One Day Training event.

Congratulations International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators NY Metro Chapter! For sponsoring and binging together over 150 financial crime investigators for the IAFCI NY Metro One Day Fraud Training event. The event was held at the historic Fort Hamilton Community Center overlooking the the NY Harbor. Attendees heard about topics including mail theft, bust out schemes, social media and was concluded with a very hands-on "show & tell" presentation about Ghost Guns presented by the New York City Police Department. All of the topics reinforced to attendees the amount of financial crime activity is involved in these criminal activities. FinAware was proud to sponsor this event and provided a presentation on how financial crime investigators, forensic auditors, and criminal analysts are using non-predictive #ai tools, such as FinAware to investigate financial crime. FinAware eliminates the hours, days, and weeks of financial data management, organization and analysis. Thank you to all the attendees who signed-up for our free trial offer and will be the first to see 𝑪𝒓𝒚𝒑𝒕𝒐𝑨𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒆, the data management tool for when you go off-chain and inside a cryptocurrency exchange. Didn't make it to the #iafci NY event? No worries, you can learn more about FinAware and request to be put on the waitlist to see 𝑪𝒓𝒚𝒑𝒕𝒐𝑨𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒆, by visiting https://lnkd.in/ecwaRh-U

🕵🏼♀️Over 150 financial crime investigators, from law enforcement & the private sector coming together in Brooklyn, NY. The International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators kicked of their NY Metro One Day Fraud Training event, sponsored by FinAware this morning at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn NY. #iafci Chapter President Chris Kelsey and Board Member, and my good old friend from back in the day Ann Palillo joined me to see the latest in AI powered financial investigation support technology. FinAware eliminates hours, days and weeks of manual tedious financial data organization, management, and analysis. From pdf bank statements to cryptocurrency exchange returns to Zelle transactions, investigators are using FinAware to create excel spreadsheets, timelines, and courtroom ready charts in a matter of minutes. Not attending IAFCI NY? No worries. Check out this short introduction to FinAware video here https://lnkd.in/ejaehtih Are you still hand-jamming your financial data into spreadsheets?

👩🏽⚖️ 6 years in federal lock-up for running a 6 year ML operation. 🏪 Here is how it worked. An Ohio man who previously pleaded guilty as part of a $9.5 million drug money laundering operation from 2016 to 2021 will spend the next 6 years in prison and was ordered to forfeit one-million dollars. The perp conspired with others to launder $9.5 million through a front company, La Tiendita, a small grocery store. According to prosecutors, drug traffickers would come into the store and drop off large amounts of cash to Alejandro Ventura-Santos. Ventura-Santos would then use fake sender names and addresses to wire the money back to a transnational criminal organization in Mexico. The wire transfers would be structured to avoid mandatory #antimoneylaundering rules. This is a common money laundering method where money launderers would not only use bank accounts, but would also set up numerous money remittance services to wire money to Mexico and other source countries. Each of these wire remittances will most likely have a separate bank account for each service and most likely at multiple banks. Unlike a #shell company, #front companies have a real business purpose. But both can be used for illicit purposes such as money laundering, hiding assets and terrorist financing. https://lnkd.in/eE9buv8n

👀Russian nationals charged with running a secret crypto exchange: 4 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓. Recently, U.S. authorities charged two Russian nationals with operating a billion-dollar money-laundering operation associated with secret cryptocurrency exchanges. According to documents released, charges include a count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aiding and abetting bank fraud for providing support to a credit card website that processed payments, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering for laundering profits from another credit card processing payment system. One of the defendants charged was believed to be a 20-year professional cyber money launderer. Four characteristics of a secret cryptocurrency exchange 𝐄𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐲 ►They employ advanced encryption and anonymity techniques to obscure user identities and transaction details. 𝐍𝐨 𝐊𝐘𝐂 𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 ►Unlike compliant exchanges, secret exchanges often do not require identity verification. 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 ►Many operate as decentralized exchanges or DEXs to avoid centralized control and regulatory scrutiny. 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐬 ►They commonly offer trading pairs for privacy-focused cryptocurrencies. Secret crypto exchanges pose money laundering risks, have national security implications, and avoid regulatory oversight. ❓Do you believe there is any value to these secret crypto exchanges?

October 1st is more than the beginning of a new month. For the U.S. Federal Government and many state governments, October 1st represents the beginning of a new year. New fiscal year. New case numbering year. New goals & objectives for the year. For all of you celebrating the “new year” Stay focused and win the race. FY 2025.

👀You can’t miss this gift card scam warning. 👍🏾Let’s do more like this. I was recently in my local supermarket and couldn’t miss this gift card scam warning. Literally popping out And in your face. Thank you ShopRite for putting your customers' safety ahead of corporate profits. Always remember No law enforcement agency No utility company No courthouse No bank Will ever call you and demand immediate payment in gift cards or cryptocurrency. ❓Who would like to see more in-your face gift card display warnings like this? 🤔BTW…Maybe we can get some of these signs around the bitcoin ATMs as well.  Just say’n. Jonathan D'Orsi Saker ShopRites, Inc. Jesus Munoz