User Panel
Posted: 5/13/2024 9:56:56 AM EDT
Four flight attendants have been arrested and charged in connection with a “years-long” scheme to smuggle millions of dollars worth of drug money from New York City to the Caribbean.
The US Attorney’s office estimated that the defendants smuggled approximately $8m in “bulk cash” from the US to the Dominican Republic over a period of many years. Charlie Hernandez, 42, Sarah Valerio Pujols, 42, Emmanuel Torres, 34, and Jarol Fabio, 35, were arrested on Wednesday. They are each charged with one count of operation of an unlicensed money transmission business, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and one count of entering an airport or aircraft area in violation of security requirements, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. .. According to prosecutors the defendants knowingly smuggled large amounts of illicit money linked to the sale of narcotics, including fentanyl, from the US and took advantage of airport security checkpoints by using their “trusted positions as flight attendants” at the John F Kennedy International Airport, in New York. .. All four of the defendants worked as flight attendants for different international airlines that operate between New York and the Dominican Republic. Each was a “Known Crewmember” with TSA that allowed them to pass through security checks with less scrutiny, prosecutors said. The investigation noted the help of a cooperating witness, who told law enforcement about the methods which were used in the significant money laundering operation at the airports. .. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/flight-attendants-smuggling-nyc-caribbean-b2542660.html Real life Jackie Brown. |
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Pics?
You know, before I pass judgement. You know, since your link is killed and you didn't even hotlink it either..... Come on man....RULZ |
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Not the DR but still reminds me of this GFRR song
Rubberneck |
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I've boarded planes that were leaving the US and Customs was at the gate with a K9, one time was departing for Amsterdam, and the boarding was going slow AF. I asked the LEO about the dog, mentioning that we are going TO Amsterdam, no arriving from Amsterdam... He said the dog smelled money, they were looking for people taking large amounts of cash out of the US. I dunno how the dog can tell if you have over $9,999 on you, but okay pup.
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It’s time for flight attendants to be taken off of the KCM program. In my experience I get popped for a random security check more often than I am able to get cleared through the KCM checkpoint. It’s all because of these flight attendants smuggling drugs and what not. How many flight attendants affiliated with criminal enterprises are actually employed by the airlines? What better way to transport drugs across the country.
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Quoted: I've boarded planes that were leaving the US and Customs was at the gate with a K9, one time was departing for Amsterdam, and the boarding was going slow AF. I asked the LEO about the dog, mentioning that we are going TO Amsterdam, no arriving from Amsterdam... He said the dog smelled money, they were looking for people taking large amounts of cash out of the US. I dunno how the dog can tell if you have over $9,999 on you, but okay pup. View Quote Is it illegal to take money out of the US? Or a certain amount? |
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Quoted: Is it illegal to take money out of the US? Or a certain amount? View Quote Same as a bank, anything $10k and over is suspect. I mean, you can legally do it, but you are going to be detained, you better have proof the money is legal, they may seize it. Shit, there are people who have had large amounts of cash seized when flying domestically. To "them", why didn't the person just wire the money!?! Well, because they must be doing something illegal... Same as the people who get "asset forfeiture" because they get pulled over with $23k in cash when they are driving to another State to buy a used vehicle. Pretty sure Regan did this, war on drugs and what not. Though, it may have been Carter. I recall news stories and even my Grandfather (who worked at a bank) in Miami talking about people showing up to deposit millions in cash at a bank. |
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Quoted: I've boarded planes that were leaving the US and Customs was at the gate with a K9, one time was departing for Amsterdam, and the boarding was going slow AF. I asked the LEO about the dog, mentioning that we are going TO Amsterdam, no arriving from Amsterdam... He said the dog smelled money, they were looking for people taking large amounts of cash out of the US. I dunno how the dog can tell if you have over $9,999 on you, but okay pup. View Quote I dated a girl who could do that. |
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I was going through KCM with a group of FAs and one of them started walking towards the Pre-check lane. The other FAs started trying to guide her back towards the KCM lane when she had to tell them she didn’t have KCM access anymore. Was curious how she managed to fuck that up
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Quoted: I dated a girl who could do that. View Quote Yeah, quite a few for me too... Jokes on them, I'm frugal and they never got shit beyond what we typically spend money on. One tried to get me to pay for her college, didn't like the "That's a poor investment on my part, you're not my wife, we're never getting married, terrible return on investment on my part." That didn't go over well. |
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Wasn’t it wolf of wall street that did this in the movie? Strapping money to the girls?
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Quoted: It’s time for flight attendants to be taken off of the KCM program. In my experience I get popped for a random security check more often than I am able to get cleared through the KCM checkpoint. It’s all because of these flight attendants smuggling drugs and what not. How many flight attendants affiliated with criminal enterprises are actually employed by the airlines? What better way to transport drugs across the country. View Quote This. The KCM program is completely unusable. |
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Quoted: It’s time for flight attendants to be taken off of the KCM program. In my experience I get popped for a random security check more often than I am able to get cleared through the KCM checkpoint. It’s all because of these flight attendants smuggling drugs and what not. How many flight attendants affiliated with criminal enterprises are actually employed by the airlines? What better way to transport drugs across the country. View Quote Only pilots are professional enough to enjoy that particular benefit of being a crewmember? Or is it that FAs aren't actually crewmembers in your eyes? |
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Quoted: Wasn’t it wolf of wall street that did this in the movie? Strapping money to the girls? View Quote It’s always been harder for drug dealers to export the cash, than it is to import the drugs. Idk why they don’t just use BC or some other electronic commerce these days. I guess it can be tracked. |
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Quoted: Only pilots are professional enough to enjoy that particular benefit of being a crewmember? Or is it that FAs aren't actually crewmembers in your eyes? View Quote Stewardesses were not originally in the KCM program. It became a political and me too bailey wig with arguments about funding and inclusion... Yes, there have been some pilots that have broken the rules too, but the penalties are much more significant for them. The entire program has gone down the tubes now... |
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8m aint a whole lot of drug money over years...
That sounds like one trip |
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Never been done before:
Stewardess smuggle scene taken from Blow (2001) |
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Quoted: Stewardesses were not originally in the KCM program. It became a political and me too bailey wig with arguments about funding and inclusion... Yes, there have been some pilots that have broken the rules too, but the penalties are much more significant for them. The entire program has gone down the tubes now... View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Only pilots are professional enough to enjoy that particular benefit of being a crewmember? Or is it that FAs aren't actually crewmembers in your eyes? Stewardesses were not originally in the KCM program. It became a political and me too bailey wig with arguments about funding and inclusion... Yes, there have been some pilots that have broken the rules too, but the penalties are much more significant for them. The entire program has gone down the tubes now... Seems silly to me that you'd have a crew returning to the airport and then get divided at security. Doesn't it make more sense to process security together? I.e., through the KCA checkpoint? Depart together -> hotel together -> back to airport together -> now lets break up and meet up on the other side? Admittedly, I've never gone through a KCA checkpoint nor been a part of the program. I walk my happy ass through the door of whatever FBO we happen to be parked at and onto the jet. Only time I have to deal with TSA or security is when flying as a passenger. |
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Quoted: Here's 1m in twenties. Multiple that by 8, then divide by the amount you can safely conceal in the lining of a suitcase. That's a lot of trips in 3 years, even with a team of 4. https://i.ibb.co/XW97099/ykjhtb1wm4h41.jpg View Quote Why would you use 20s? Divide by 5. I was exaggerating slightly with 1 trip but it hardly seems worth the risk if you are only doing a few grand |
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Quoted: Seems silly to me that you'd have a crew returning to the airport and then get divided at security. Doesn't it make more sense to process security together? I.e., through the KCA checkpoint? Depart together -> hotel together -> back to airport together -> now lets break up and meet up on the other side? Admittedly, I've never gone through a KCA checkpoint nor been a part of the program. I walk my happy ass through the door of whatever FBO we happen to be parked at and onto the jet. Only time I have to deal with TSA or security is when flying as a passenger. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Only pilots are professional enough to enjoy that particular benefit of being a crewmember? Or is it that FAs aren't actually crewmembers in your eyes? Stewardesses were not originally in the KCM program. It became a political and me too bailey wig with arguments about funding and inclusion... Yes, there have been some pilots that have broken the rules too, but the penalties are much more significant for them. The entire program has gone down the tubes now... Seems silly to me that you'd have a crew returning to the airport and then get divided at security. Doesn't it make more sense to process security together? I.e., through the KCA checkpoint? Depart together -> hotel together -> back to airport together -> now lets break up and meet up on the other side? Admittedly, I've never gone through a KCA checkpoint nor been a part of the program. I walk my happy ass through the door of whatever FBO we happen to be parked at and onto the jet. Only time I have to deal with TSA or security is when flying as a passenger. No. |
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Quoted: Why would you use 20s? Divide by 5. View Quote How many junkies do you think pay for their daily fix of fentanyl with $100 bills vs. $20 bills? You can't exactly walk into a bank and say, "hey can I exchange all these $20s for $100s because I have a flight to catch and I want to pack light." |
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Quoted: It’s always been harder for drug dealers to export the cash, than it is to import the drugs. Idk why they don’t just use BC or some other electronic commerce these days. I guess it can be tracked. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Wasn’t it wolf of wall street that did this in the movie? Strapping money to the girls? It’s always been harder for drug dealers to export the cash, than it is to import the drugs. Idk why they don’t just use BC or some other electronic commerce these days. I guess it can be tracked. The blockchain ledger isn't really a good place to record your nefarious deeds, IMO. YMMV |
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Quoted: It’s always been harder for drug dealers to export the cash, than it is to import the drugs. Idk why they don’t just use BC or some other electronic commerce these days. I guess it can be tracked. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Wasn’t it wolf of wall street that did this in the movie? Strapping money to the girls? It’s always been harder for drug dealers to export the cash, than it is to import the drugs. Idk why they don’t just use BC or some other electronic commerce these days. I guess it can be tracked. If you mean Bitcoin by BC, then yes. Contrary to what the media tells you, it's easily traceable. More so than bank records as transactions are public data. You need only tie their address to them (at an "on-ramp" like an exchange) the you can follow it from there using the block scanner. Same applies for the vast majority of other networks as well. There are obfuscation methods, but even then, it's still public. |
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Quoted: How many junkies do you think pay for their daily fix of fentanyl with $100 bills vs. $20 bills? You can't exactly walk into a bank and say, "hey can I exchange all these $20s for $100s because I have a flight to catch and I want to pack light." View Quote If you are actually at the trafficking end of it smuggling shit between countries you make all your street level dealers pay you in 100s. They can figure it out. Could probably go the oversize gold chain route, not have to declare it though customs and put it right through the xray machine. Would be a little bit of a cost involved with that but pretty low risk. Wear the real deal there and a plated job on the way back |
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Quoted: Seems silly to me that you'd have a crew returning to the airport and then get divided at security. Doesn't it make more sense to process security together? I.e., through the KCA checkpoint? Depart together -> hotel together -> back to airport together -> now lets break up and meet up on the other side? Admittedly, I've never gone through a KCA checkpoint nor been a part of the program. I walk my happy ass through the door of whatever FBO we happen to be parked at and onto the jet. Only time I have to deal with TSA or security is when flying as a passenger. View Quote Silly? You are dealing with the TSA, which is a massive .gov bureaucracy, of course it's silly. In Amsterdam, all crew members go trough a separate screening that is out of view of passengers. They check your ID and they test you for explosives. It is very efficient and professional. They don't wast time and money on things that don't matter. The part of KCM that makes sense is that they are performing an actual identity check. Your crew ID comes up on the computer and is crossed checked with multiple ID cards. They know exactly who you are. Unfortunately, a few bad apples always ruin it for everyone else. I can only imagine the amount of money that has been wasted since 911 screening the least dangerous people in America. |
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Quoted: Same as a bank, anything $10k and over is suspect. I mean, you can legally do it, but you are going to be detained, you better have proof the money is legal, they may seize it. Shit, there are people who have had large amounts of cash seized when flying domestically. To "them", why didn't the person just wire the money!?! Well, because they must be doing something illegal... Same as the people who get "asset forfeiture" because they get pulled over with $23k in cash when they are driving to another State to buy a used vehicle. Pretty sure Regan did this, war on drugs and what not. Though, it may have been Carter. I recall news stories and even my Grandfather (who worked at a bank) in Miami talking about people showing up to deposit millions in cash at a bank. View Quote You gotta love living in a free country... |
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Quoted: You gotta love living in a free country... View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Same as a bank, anything $10k and over is suspect. I mean, you can legally do it, but you are going to be detained, you better have proof the money is legal, they may seize it. Shit, there are people who have had large amounts of cash seized when flying domestically. To "them", why didn't the person just wire the money!?! Well, because they must be doing something illegal... Same as the people who get "asset forfeiture" because they get pulled over with $23k in cash when they are driving to another State to buy a used vehicle. Pretty sure Regan did this, war on drugs and what not. Though, it may have been Carter. I recall news stories and even my Grandfather (who worked at a bank) in Miami talking about people showing up to deposit millions in cash at a bank. You gotta love living in a free country... If I recall correctly there was a case where a guy had cash seized even though he had a receipt from the bank. Was going to use it to buy a car or truck. |
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Heard about this s no time to follow up at the time and find out details
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Quoted: It’s time for flight attendants to be taken off of the KCM program. In my experience I get popped for a random security check more often than I am able to get cleared through the KCM checkpoint. It’s all because of these flight attendants smuggling drugs and what not. How many flight attendants affiliated with criminal enterprises are actually employed by the airlines? What better way to transport drugs across the country. View Quote This is why we have to go through additional screening up to 40% of the time. |
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Quoted: If you mean Bitcoin by BC, then yes. Contrary to what the media tells you, it's easily traceable. More so than bank records as transactions are public data. You need only tie their address to them (at an "on-ramp" like an exchange) the you can follow it from there using the block scanner. Same applies for the vast majority of other networks as well. There are obfuscation methods, but even then, it's still public. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Wasn’t it wolf of wall street that did this in the movie? Strapping money to the girls? It’s always been harder for drug dealers to export the cash, than it is to import the drugs. Idk why they don’t just use BC or some other electronic commerce these days. I guess it can be tracked. If you mean Bitcoin by BC, then yes. Contrary to what the media tells you, it's easily traceable. More so than bank records as transactions are public data. You need only tie their address to them (at an "on-ramp" like an exchange) the you can follow it from there using the block scanner. Same applies for the vast majority of other networks as well. There are obfuscation methods, but even then, it's still public. That's where NFT's and the modern art world step in. |
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Quoted: Silly? You are dealing with the TSA, which is a massive .gov bureaucracy, of course it's silly. In Amsterdam, all crew members go trough a separate screening that is out of view of passengers. They check your ID and they test you for explosives. It is very efficient and professional. They don't wast time and money on things that don't matter. The part of KCM that makes sense is that they are performing an actual identity check. Your crew ID comes up on the computer and is crossed checked with multiple ID cards. They know exactly who you are. Unfortunately, a few bad apples always ruin it for everyone else. I can only imagine the amount of money that has been wasted since 911 screening the least dangerous people in America. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Seems silly to me that you'd have a crew returning to the airport and then get divided at security. Doesn't it make more sense to process security together? I.e., through the KCA checkpoint? Depart together -> hotel together -> back to airport together -> now lets break up and meet up on the other side? Admittedly, I've never gone through a KCA checkpoint nor been a part of the program. I walk my happy ass through the door of whatever FBO we happen to be parked at and onto the jet. Only time I have to deal with TSA or security is when flying as a passenger. Silly? You are dealing with the TSA, which is a massive .gov bureaucracy, of course it's silly. In Amsterdam, all crew members go trough a separate screening that is out of view of passengers. They check your ID and they test you for explosives. It is very efficient and professional. They don't wast time and money on things that don't matter. The part of KCM that makes sense is that they are performing an actual identity check. Your crew ID comes up on the computer and is crossed checked with multiple ID cards. They know exactly who you are. Unfortunately, a few bad apples always ruin it for everyone else. I can only imagine the amount of money that has been wasted since 911 screening the least dangerous people in America. But I like the free substandard government-provided handie before I get my $15 Cinnabon and $8 soda. It reminds me the importance of free markets and consumer choice. Kharn |
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Quoted: It's always been harder for drug dealers to export the cash, than it is to import the drugs. Idk why they don't just use BC or some other electronic commerce these days. I guess it can be tracked. View Quote |
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Quoted: That's where NFT's and the modern art world step in. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Wasn’t it wolf of wall street that did this in the movie? Strapping money to the girls? It’s always been harder for drug dealers to export the cash, than it is to import the drugs. Idk why they don’t just use BC or some other electronic commerce these days. I guess it can be tracked. If you mean Bitcoin by BC, then yes. Contrary to what the media tells you, it's easily traceable. More so than bank records as transactions are public data. You need only tie their address to them (at an "on-ramp" like an exchange) the you can follow it from there using the block scanner. Same applies for the vast majority of other networks as well. There are obfuscation methods, but even then, it's still public. That's where NFT's and the modern art world step in. Modern art, maybe, but NFTs are just as traceable as any other cryptocurrency. From the moment one is minted it's traceable on the blockchain. Literally everything is public. Every transaction that has ever occurred on the network is publicly viewable at all times. Unlike traditional finance, past transactions can't be edited. They're immutable. Sure, they could make or buy an NFT and sell it for a small fortune, BUT there's still the record of where those funds came from and where they ended up. EVERYTHING is public. They could have transferred all this near instantly on a crypto network, however to get it into the system they'd have to pass through an exchange, which would require KYC, same as a bank. Finding someone to do an OTC deal without KYC is incredibly unlikely for that amount and frequency. |
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Quoted: Same as a bank, anything $10k and over is suspect. I mean, you can legally do it, but you are going to be detained, you better have proof the money is legal, they may seize it. Shit, there are people who have had large amounts of cash seized when flying domestically. To "them", why didn't the person just wire the money!?! Well, because they must be doing something illegal... Same as the people who get "asset forfeiture" because they get pulled over with $23k in cash when they are driving to another State to buy a used vehicle. Pretty sure Regan did this, war on drugs and what not. Though, it may have been Carter. I recall news stories and even my Grandfather (who worked at a bank) in Miami talking about people showing up to deposit millions in cash at a bank. View Quote $8mil 4 people 3 years (min) $2mil ea $650k ea per year 65 flights each That seems perfectly legitimate possibility. Carry $9,999 out of the U.S. on your flight 65 times a year. If you are a flight attendant that's not even a lot of flights. |
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A lot of countries use $10,000 as the limit for undeclared cash. I was watching a show about border security in Australia and someone got jammed up because they had $10k US and it was worth more than 10k Australian.
A few years ago we were going thru security in CA and the pilot for our flight was on the precheck security line ahead of us. He said that TSA always gives him an extra hard time. |
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Quoted: https://lede-admin.lataco.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/jackiebrown-8.jpg?w=1420&quality=75 View Quote This came to mind! Wasn’t there a movie about? |
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I always wondered why it's so hard to move cash. I guess gold or bitcoin wasn't an option. Realistically the easiest would be by boat. It's 850 miles or so from Key West. Just have one of their boats meet 1/2 way. Lots of go fast boats have 500 mile range and could make it in a less than 24 hours.
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Quoted: Modern art, maybe, but NFTs are just as traceable as any other cryptocurrency. From the moment one is minted it's traceable on the blockchain. Literally everything is public. Every transaction that has ever occurred on the network is publicly viewable at all times. Unlike traditional finance, past transactions can't be edited. They're immutable. Sure, they could make or buy an NFT and sell it for a small fortune, BUT there's still the record of where those funds came from and where they ended up. EVERYTHING is public. They could have transferred all this near instantly on a crypto network, however to get it into the system they'd have to pass through an exchange, which would require KYC, same as a bank. Finding someone to do an OTC deal without KYC is incredibly unlikely for that amount and frequency. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Wasn’t it wolf of wall street that did this in the movie? Strapping money to the girls? It’s always been harder for drug dealers to export the cash, than it is to import the drugs. Idk why they don’t just use BC or some other electronic commerce these days. I guess it can be tracked. If you mean Bitcoin by BC, then yes. Contrary to what the media tells you, it's easily traceable. More so than bank records as transactions are public data. You need only tie their address to them (at an "on-ramp" like an exchange) the you can follow it from there using the block scanner. Same applies for the vast majority of other networks as well. There are obfuscation methods, but even then, it's still public. That's where NFT's and the modern art world step in. Modern art, maybe, but NFTs are just as traceable as any other cryptocurrency. From the moment one is minted it's traceable on the blockchain. Literally everything is public. Every transaction that has ever occurred on the network is publicly viewable at all times. Unlike traditional finance, past transactions can't be edited. They're immutable. Sure, they could make or buy an NFT and sell it for a small fortune, BUT there's still the record of where those funds came from and where they ended up. EVERYTHING is public. They could have transferred all this near instantly on a crypto network, however to get it into the system they'd have to pass through an exchange, which would require KYC, same as a bank. Finding someone to do an OTC deal without KYC is incredibly unlikely for that amount and frequency. NFT's were no different than modern art, in this way. Even laundering through physical art, you still have to exchange the money from buyer to seller. NFT's were just a whole lot easier. You didn't need an art appraiser that was willing to play ball. You could literally take a picture from the internet, and sell it to a "random buyer" for as much money as you wanted. (i.e once the cocaine is delivered, you can't wire $100k to a drug dealer for cocaine, but you can purchase a picture of a monkey from an artist with a username for $100k.) |
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There it is!
The Wolf of Wall Street Clip - You Work for Me |
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Quoted: Is it illegal to take money out of the US? Or a certain amount? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: I've boarded planes that were leaving the US and Customs was at the gate with a K9, one time was departing for Amsterdam, and the boarding was going slow AF. I asked the LEO about the dog, mentioning that we are going TO Amsterdam, no arriving from Amsterdam... He said the dog smelled money, they were looking for people taking large amounts of cash out of the US. I dunno how the dog can tell if you have over $9,999 on you, but okay pup. Is it illegal to take money out of the US? Or a certain amount? I want a cash sniffing dog to go work outbound truck stops close to the border. |
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Quoted: I always wondered why it's so hard to move cash. I guess gold or bitcoin wasn't an option. Realistically the easiest would be by boat. It's 850 miles or so from Key West. Just have one of their boats meet 1/2 way. Lots of go fast boats have 500 mile range and could make it in a less than 24 hours. View Quote Or just FedEx it overnight. |
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