The Russian Crime Organization That Operated in Trump Tower

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Originally Posted by Judy

I can't believe we waste precious federal resources on investigations like what was described as going on in the Trump Tower from the rich people money poker games to telephone sports betting. The FBI tapped these people's phones and apartment unit for 2 years. One guy was sentenced 5 years on a plea bargain and another one was sentenced ... 1 year. And the sad thing is no one cares if rich people play money poker in their apartments, who cares? No one cares. And half of the people of the United States are betting on sports of one kind of another. It's a total waste of money and a violation of their rights to play cards, watch sporting events and place wagers on the outcome. It's fun, it's entertainment, best I can tell, it's some type of excitement, something to look forward to, a competition with regards to the cards, a prediction game with regards to the sports. Why would it be illegal in the first place? I don't get it.

Time to review all those laws and get rid of the frivolous investigations.

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GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were also each ordered to forfeit more than $20 million in cash, investments, and real property. They were charged in April 2013 along with 32 other alleged members and associates of two Russian-American organized crime enterprises in an indictment that included racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and various gambling offenses.

GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “The sentences meted out to Anatoly Golubchik and Vadim Trincher are just and appropriate penalties for the roles the defendants played in this far-reaching, Russian-American organized crime ring.

So where did their money go that they "forfeited"? Who got it? Sounds like a federal theft ring to me. Did they send it back to Russia? Did they send it to Ukraine? Where did it go? Who got it?

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Originally Posted by Judy

So where did their money go that they "forfeited"? Who got it? Sounds like a federal theft ring to me. Did they send it back to Russia? Did they send it to Ukraine? Where did it go? Who got it?

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Money ordered forfieted by a federal judge for crimes committed in the U.S. go into the Federal Fines and Forfeitures Account. This money is used for grants to city, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies for law enforcement purposes.

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Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Money ordered forfieted by a federal judge for crimes committed in the U.S. go into the Federal Fines and Forfeitures Account. This money is used for grants to city, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies for law enforcement purposes.

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Theoretically --- maybe.

Forfeitures in Criminal Sentencing

Where's the Money Go?

The sale proceeds from forfeited real and personal property, or the cash turned over by the defendant, are usually used for law enforcement projects, such as buying new equipment. Some of the money may go into the federal Crime Victims Fund, which is run by the Office for Victims of Crime. Most states have similar funds. These funds provide things like medical services and emergency shelter for victims of crimes.


http://criminal.lawyers.com/criminal...entencing.html

21 U.S. Code § 853 - Criminal forfeitures | US Law | LII / Legal ...

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/21/853
(a) Property subject to criminal forfeitureAny person convicted of a violation of this .... the obstruction of justice provision of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.


Rule 32.2 Criminal Forfeiture | Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure ...

https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/rule_32.2
A court must not enter a judgment of forfeiture in a criminal proceeding ... regarding that property under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4 (b). .... Other courts also ask the jury if the defendant has a legal interest in the forfeited property.


18 U.S. Code § 981 - Civil forfeiture | US Law | LII / Legal Information ...

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/981
(1) The following property is subject to forfeiture to the United States: .... Notwithstanding the provisions of rule 41(a) of the Federal Rules ofCriminal Procedure, ...


Types Of Federal Forfeiture | AFP | Department of Justice

https://www.justice.gov/afp/types-federal-forfeiture
Feb 1, 2017 - Criminal forfeiture is an action brought as a part of the criminal ... for State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, U.S. Department of Justice, ...

That's a federal theft ring. They should have sent the money back to Russia if it was really money laundering of funds obtained illegally in Russia, then that money belongs to people in Russia. Why would the US government prosecute "money laundering" of Russian money, confiscate it through forfeiture and not return it to Russia to whom it belongs?

Because it wasn't money laundering to begin with? Just rich Russians moving their money to the United States to protect it and have some poker and sports betting fun?

This is sickening.

GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were also each ordered to forfeit more than $20 million in cash, investments, and real property. They were charged in April 2013 along with 32 other alleged members and associates of two Russian-American organized crime enterprises in an indictment that included racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and various gambling offenses.


ex·tor·tion
ikˈstôrSH(ə)n/
noun

• the practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats.

rack·et·eer·ing
ˌrakəˈtiriNG/
noun

• dishonest and fraudulent business dealings.
  "racketeering ensnared the economy"

mon·ey laun·der·ing
noun

• the concealment of the origins of illegally obtained money, typically by means of transfers involving foreign banks or legitimate businesses.
  "he was convicted of money laundering and tax evasion

Then give the money back to the people it was forced or extorted from, which would be the Russians according to the articles you posted. What kind of sick country has our government made US into that we prosecute other people's criminals to steal their money for ourselves??!!

That is disgusting. If your articles and cases are true in fact, the money isn't ours, it belongs to the people in Russia that was it taken from and laundered here. It's not our money, it's theirs.

U.S. Attorney's Office
Southern District of New York
(212) 637-2600


April 30, 2014


Two Defendants Sentenced for Participating in Racketeering Conspiracy with Russian-American Organized Crime Enterprise Operating International Sportsbook That Laundered More Than $100 Million

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ANATOLY GOLUBCHIK was sentenced yesterday in Manhattan federal court to five years in prison, and VADIM TRINCHER was also sentenced today to five years in prison for participating in a racketeering conspiracy in connection with their roles as members of a Russian-American organized crime enterprise.

GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were also each ordered to forfeit more than $20 million in cash, investments, and real property. They were charged in April 2013 along with 32 other alleged members and associates of two Russian-American organized crime enterprises in an indictment that included racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and various gambling offenses.

GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “The sentences meted out to Anatoly Golubchik and Vadim Trincher are just and appropriate penalties for the roles the defendants played in this far-reaching, Russian-American organized crime ring.

I’d like to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York City Police Department, and the Internal Revenue Service for their tireless efforts in working to ensure that the members of this underground enterprise were held to account for their crimes.”

According to the indictment, other documents filed in Manhattan federal court, and statements made at various proceedings in this case, including today’s sentencing:

The Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization (the “Organization”) was a criminal enterprise with strong ties to Russia and Ukraine. The enterprise operated a high-stakes, illegal sports gambling business out of New York City that catered primarily to Russian oligarchs living in Ukraine and Russia.

GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were U.S.-based participants in the enterprise. GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER booked sports bets that reached into the millions of dollars and laundered the proceeds of the Organization’s international sportsbook. Between 2006 and April 2012, the enterprise laundered approximately $100 million in proceeds from their gambling operation in Russia and Ukraine through shell companies and bank accounts in Cyprus; and of this $100 million, approximately $50 million was subsequently sent from Cyprus into the United States.

Once the money had been transferred to the United States, it was either laundered through additional shell companies or invested in legitimate investments, such as hedge funds and real estate.

The Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization operated under the protection of Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, who is known as a “Vor,” a term translated as “Thief-in-Law,” that refers to a member of a select group of high-level criminals from the former Soviet Union. Tokhtakhounov used his status as a Vor to resolve disputes with clients of the high-stakes illegal gambling operation with implicit and sometimes explicit threats of violence and economic harm. Between December 2011 and February 2013, Tokhtakhounov was paid at least approximately $12 million for his services by the Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization. Tokhtakhounov is also under indictment in the Southern District of New York for his alleged involvement in bribing officials at the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tokhtakhounov is a fugitive and is still being sought.

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Twenty-eight defendants in this case have pled guilty and two have entered into deferred prosecution agreements. The defendants who have pled to date have agreed to forfeit, in total, more than $68 million. The following defendants have pled guilty, and have been sentenced or await sentencing:

• Bryan Zuriff pled guilty to gambling charges on July 26, 2013, and was sentenced on November 25, 2013.
• William Barbalat pled guilty to gambling charges on August 14, 2013, and was sentenced on December 16, 2013.
• Kirill Rapoport pled guilty to gambling charges on August 16, 2013, and was sentenced on December 19, 2014.
• Edwin Ting and Justin Smith pled guilty to gambling charges on September 4, 2013, and were sentenced on January 21, 2014, and January 6, 2014, respectively.
• Dmitry Druzhinsky and David Aaron pled guilty to gambling charges on October 4, 2013, and were sentenced on April 18, 2014, and February 14, 2014, respectively.
• Alexander Zaverukha pled guilty to gambling charges on October 10, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 1, 2014.
• Nicholas Hirsch pled guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud on October 16, 2013, and was sentenced on February 25, 2014.
• Anatoly Shteyngrob pled guilty to conspiring to commit money laundering on October 17, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 10, 2014.
• Yugeshwar Rajkumar pled guilty to gambling charges on October 18, 2013, and was sentenced on March 25, 2014.
• Stan Greenberg pled guilty to conspiring to commit racketeering on October 22, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2, 2014.
• Arthur Azen pled guilty to conspiring to commit money laundering and conspiring to collect extensions of credit by extortionate means on November 5, 2013, and was sentenced on April 9, 2014.
• Hillel Nahmad pled guilty to gambling charges on November 12, 2013, and was sentenced on April 30, 2014.
• Vadim Trincher pled guilty to conspiring to commit racketeering on November 14, 2013, and was sentenced on April 30, 2014.
• Eugene Trincher pled guilty to gambling charges on November 14, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 9, 2014.
• Anatoly Golubchik pled guilty to conspiring to commit racketeering on November 15, 2013, and was sentenced on April 29, 2014.
• Illya Trincher pled guilty to gambling charges on November 15, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 8, 2014.
• Ronald Uy pled guilty to structuring financial transactions on November 25, 2013, and was sentenced on March 27, 2014.
• Moshe Oratz pled guilty to gambling charges on December 3, 2013, and was sentenced on April 9, 2014.
• Michael Sall pled guilty to interstate travel in aid of an unlawful activity (illegal gambling) and Jonathan Hirsch pled guilty to gambling charges on December 4, 2013. Sall was sentenced on April 18, 2014, and Hirsch is scheduled to be sentenced on May 9, 2014.
• Noah Siegel pled guilty to gambling charges on December 5, 2013, and was sentenced on April 10, 2014.
• Molly Bloom pled guilty to gambling charges on December 12, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2, 2014.
• Alexander Katchaloff pled guilty to gambling charges on January 16, 2014, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 20, 2014.
• Donald McCalmont, John Jarekci, a/k/a “John Hanson,” and Abraham Mosseri pled guilty to making a fraudulent tax statement, to failing to file a tax return, and causing a financial institution to participate in a lottery related matter, respectively, on January 24, 2014, and are scheduled to be sentenced on May 29, 2014, May 28, 2014, and May 21, 2014, respectively.
• William Edler and Peter Feldman entered into deferred prosecution agreements on April 11, 2014.

Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York City Police Department, and the Internal Revenue Service.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harris M. Fischman, Joshua A. Naftalis, Peter J. Skinner, and Kristy J. Greenberg of the Violent and Organized Crime Unit are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant
U.S. Attorney Alexander Wilson of the Office’s Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit is responsible for the forfeiture aspects of the case.

https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field...an-100-million