U.S. Department of Justice Indicts U.S. Citizens Residing in the U.S. Virgin Islands for Bank Secrecy Act Violations and Tax Evasion
On November 8, 2011, a grand jury sitting in the U.S. Virgin Islands returned a second superseding indictment in the case of United States of America and People of the Virgin Islands, v. Joseph Edge and Laura Edge, case # 3:10-cr-44. The indictment charged that the defendants had conspired to structure financial transactions and had violated and 33 V.I.C. section 1521, the Virgin Islands tax evasion statute.
A copy of the indictment can be found here
The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) is codified at Title 31 of the United States Code and prohibits, among other things, the structuring of transactions with financial institutions in order to avoid the $10,000 reporting requirement for cash transactions. The indictment alleged that the Defendants used various business entities to attempt to conceal earned income by causing personal debts to be paid through the business entities.
The significance of the indictment is that the U.S. Department of Justice has now turned its eye on those U.S. citizens residing in the U.S. Virgin Islands who are in violation of the BSA and for related tax crimes.
The attorneys at Fuerst Ittleman have extensive experience defending against criminal violations of the BSA and the Internal Revenue Code throughout the country and in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Additionally, Joseph A. DiRuzzo is licensed to practice in the U.S. Virgin Islands and has litigated dozens of criminal cases there. You can reach an attorney by emailing us at: contact@fidjlaw.com.