NEWS
RELEASE
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
TODD P. GRAVES
Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ! (816) 426-4220
! 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ! Kansas City, MO 64106
www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow
JANUARY 14, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
USED CAR DEALER INDICTED FOR MONEY
LAUNDERING
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Todd P. Graves, United States
Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced
today that a Kansas City, Mo., man has been indicted
by a federal grand jury for participating in a conspiracy to launder
the proceeds of illegal cocaine trafficking through his automotive dealership.
Ricardo Antonion Scott, 43, of Kansas City-North,
was charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal
grand jury on Jan. 12, 2005. Scott is the owner of Rick’s
Auto Sales, 4310 E. 31st St. in Kansas City, Mo.
Count One of the federal indictment alleges that
Scott participated in a money-laundering conspiracy from
Jan. 1, 1999, to Oct. 1, 2002. Scott allegedly knew that
the money involved in a series of financial transactions was the proceeds
of illegal cocaine distribution, and that those financial transactions
were designed in part to conceal the source of the proceeds.
According to the indictment, Scott took substantial
amounts of cash, often in excess of $10,000, from an unindicted
co-conspirator, and purchased automobiles for this person
at auto auctions. Scott retained the titles to these automobiles, the
indictment alleges, in order to conceal the true ownership and source
of funds used to purchase them, and to prevent the automobiles from
being forfeited by law enforcement in the event of the co-conspirator’s
arrest. The indictment also alleges that Scott rented his dealer license
tags to the co-conspirator in a further attempt to conceal the true
ownership of the automobiles which he purchased for the coconspirator.
Scott also structured his bank deposits from those
funds in a manner to avoid filing a cash transaction report,
by keeping these deposits under $10,000 per occasion. Among
at least seven automobiles Scott allegedly purchased
for the co-conspirator was a 1995 Mercedes for $33,000
and a 1998 Chevrolet Corvette for $28,000.
Count Two of the federal indictment is a forfeiture
count, which would require Scott to forfeit to the government any property
involved in the alleged conspiracy, including $122,075, which is equal
to the amount of money involved in the alleged conspiracy, and Scott’s
dealership license from the state of Missouri that authorizes him to
purchase and sell automobiles.
Graves cautioned that the charges contained in the
indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of
guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal
trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney
Charles E. Ambrose, Jr. It was investigated by the Internal
Revenue Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
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This news release, as well as additional information
about the office of the United States
Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is
available on-line at www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/news2005/scott.ind.pdf
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