United States v. Wright, No. 10-1249 (7th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseBased on a scheme for laundering drug money, defendants were convicted of conspiring to engage in monetary transactions in criminally derived property (18 U.S.C. 1956); one was additionally convicted of engaging in a monetary transaction in criminally derived property(18 U.S.C. 1957). The Seventh Circuit affirmed on the conspiracy count, which was supported by a "plethora" of evidence, but reversed on the second. The transaction triggering the Sect. 1957 violation occurred when a defendant handed over $8,000 of drug cash to purchase property, not when that property was sold for about $47,000; the transaction involved less than the $10,000 minimum the statute requires. The judge properly instructed the jury concerning the duration of a conspiracy and the meaning of "knowingly" and properly refused to allow the defense to address the statute of limitations to the jury.
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