Tennessee residents accused of crimes like money laundering can know how fine the line is in these situations between criminal activity and misunderstood realities. Evidence in these cases is very important in helping to identify the difference.
One man was earlier this year indicted for multiple white collar crimes including 136 individual allegations of forgery and two different theft charges. He has recently been reported to have pled guilty to the theft charges but not to the forgery charges. Instead, he has pled guilty to six different charges of money laundering. The alleged crimes are said to have taken place over several years, including the year-and-a-half that the man held the position of County Commissioner for Lawrence County.
The theft charges related to the theft of more than $260,000 from a county fire department and volunteer fire department organization. The defendant is said to have cashed checks to himself, purchased gift cards and paid personal bills with the money. It is unknown what evidence was used to make the indictments. The man potentially faces multiple years in prison for the crimes, all six of which are felonies. One theft offense is a Class A felony and the other is a Class B felony while the money laundering offenses are Class C felonies.
Knowing how to understand the difference between unique charges and their associated set of penalties is important when charged with multiple crimes. Talking to an attorney at times like these may be helpful in learning this information.
Source: The Times Daily, “Ex-commissioner pleads to theft, money laundering,” Tom Smith, Oct. 28, 2016
