New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office Seeks To Forfeit Assets Of Unlicensed Money Transmitter Trustcash
2013-09-05 · Press release
NEWARK, N.J. – The New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office today filed a civil asset forfeiture complaint seeking the forfeiture of hundreds of thousands of dollars held in bank accounts previously seized by special agents of the U.S. Secret Service from an Atlanta-based unlicensed money transmitting business, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
The complaint alleges that the assets are property involved in, or traceable to, deposits made into and through TCash Ads Inc. and its affiliate, Trustcash Holdings Inc. (“TCash”), in operating the illegal virtual currency service.
According to the complaint filed in Newark federal court:
TCash is an online payment processing service that enables individuals to anonymously purchase goods and virtual currency credits from entities who are registered with the service. Users can enter any number of national bank locations and deposit cash into a TCash account. TCash accounts can be used to pay any TCash-registered entity, including virtual currency exchanges and off-shore accounts in Canada, Cyprus, the Philippines, China, Nepal, Australia and elsewhere.
The service’s website offers deposit, charge, and mobile payment as methods to process payments, advertising that it is “a leader in payment processing, and offers a powerful suite of payment services…” The website also indicates that if a customer uses a credit card, it will be billed as “TCash Ads Inc,” and that the service has the ability to accept payments from credit cards, e-checks, online bank accounts and cash and to provide customer anonymity.
From as early as 2008 through 2012, TCash facilitated the transmission of millions of dollars, including transactions involving individuals in New Jersey.
Federal law requires every financial institution that operates as a money transmitting or service business (MTB) to be licensed in the state in which it is operating and to be registered with the Treasury Department through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). TCash does not possess the appropriate license in any state in which it appears to operate – including New Jersey, Georgia, California, Texas, New York and Delaware – and is not registered with FinCEN.
* * *
Civil forfeiture cases are “in rem” proceedings – meaning they are proceedings against things, not persons or entities who allegedly committed underlying unlawful acts. The law permits persons claiming an interest in the property an opportunity to appear and present their cases that they are innocent owners of the property and the property should not be forfeited.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of James Mottola, Special Agent in Charge of the Newark Office, and support from FinCEN, a bureau within the U.S. Department of the Treasury, with the ongoing investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Evan S. Weitz of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit and Aaron Mendelsohn of the office’s Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
13-353
Defense counsel: Douglas R. Jensen Esq., New York
- district_office
- New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office
- usa_name
- Paul J. Fishman
- event_type
- other
- judge_name
- judge_title
- case_number
- 13-353
- max_penalty_text
- sentence_summary
- money_amounts
- hundreds of thousands of dollars, millions of dollars
- crypto_assets
- statutes_json
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- press_release_url
- https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/new-jersey-us-attorney-s-office-seeks-forfeit-assets-unlicensed-money-transmitter
- extras_json
| participant_id | name | role | title | organization | location | age | nationality | status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2913 | Paul J. Fishman | U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney | New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office | New Jersey | |||
| 2914 | James Mottola | Special Agent in Charge | Special Agent in Charge | U.S. Secret Service | Newark | |||
| 2915 | Evan S. Weitz | Assistant U.S. Attorney | Assistant U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney’s Office | Newark | |||
| 2916 | Aaron Mendelsohn | Assistant U.S. Attorney | Assistant U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney’s Office | Newark | |||
| 2917 | Douglas R. Jensen | Defense Attorney | Esq. | New York |
| agency_id | agency_name | abbreviation | role | office_location | agents_mentioned | contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1903 | New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office | prosecution | Filed the civil asset forfeiture complaint and represents the government in the case | |||
| 1904 | U.S. Secret Service | USSS | investigation | Newark Office | James Mottola | Seized bank accounts and led the investigation under the direction of James Mottola |
| 1905 | Financial Crimes Enforcement Network | FinCEN | support | Provided support for the investigation regarding financial compliance and regulatory violations |
| charge_id | charge_description | statute | severity | max_penalty | fine_amount | defendant | status | participant_id | cl_docket_id | count_num | is_1960 | verified_1960 | source | updated_at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1604 | 0 | enrichment | ||||||||||||
| 3580 | unlicensed money transmitting business, U | 1 | press | 2026-09-16T19:46:00+00:00 |
| fin_id | action_type | amount | currency | description | asset_type | defendant | status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1630 | forfeiture | hundreds of thousands of dollars | USD | assets held in bank accounts previously seized by special agents of the U.S. Secret Service from an Atlanta-based unlicensed money transmitting business | cash | TCash Ads Inc. and its affiliate, Trustcash Holdings Inc. | pending |
| 1631 | seizure | millions of dollars | USD | assets held in bank accounts previously seized by special agents of the U.S. Secret Service from an Atlanta-based unlicensed money transmitting business | cash | TCash Ads Inc. and its affiliate, Trustcash Holdings Inc. | completed |
| victim_id | victim_type | description | number_affected | loss_amount | geographic_scope | vulnerability_factors | impact_description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 866 | individual | individuals in New Jersey | millions of dollars | New Jersey | facilitated the transmission of millions of dollars |
| quote_id | quote_text | speaker_name | speaker_title | speaker_organization | quote_type | context | significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3173 | TCash is an online payment processing service that enables individuals to anonymously purchase goods and virtual currency credits from entities who are registered with the service. | New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office | statement | Description of TCash services | Describes the nature of the illegal operations conducted by TCash | ||
| 3174 | The service’s website offers deposit, charge, and mobile payment as methods to process payments, advertising that it is “a leader in payment processing, and offers a powerful suite of payment services…” | New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office | statement | Description of TCash's marketing claims | Highlights the marketing tactics used by TCash to attract customers | ||
| 3175 | The website also indicates that if a customer uses a credit card, it will be billed as “TCash Ads Inc,” and that the service has the ability to accept payments from credit cards, e-checks, online bank accounts and cash and to provide customer anonymity. | New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office | statement | Description of TCash's payment methods and anonymity features | Explains how TCash facilitated anonymous transactions | ||
| 3176 | Federal law requires every financial institution that operates as a money transmitting or service business (MTB) to be licensed in the state in which it is operating and to be registered with the Treasury Department through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). | New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office | statement | Explanation of legal requirements for money transmitting businesses | Establishes the legal framework that TCash violated | ||
| 3177 | TCash does not possess the appropriate license in any state in which it appears to operate – including New Jersey, Georgia, California, Texas, New York and Delaware – and is not registered with FinCEN. | New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office | statement | Description of TCash's lack of proper licensing | Highlights the illegal operation of TCash across multiple states | ||
| 3178 | Civil forfeiture cases are “in rem” proceedings – meaning they are proceedings against things, not persons or entities who allegedly committed underlying unlawful acts. | New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office | statement | Explanation of civil forfeiture proceedings | Describes the legal process being used to seize TCash's assets | ||
| 3179 | The law permits persons claiming an interest in the property an opportunity to appear and present their cases that they are innocent owners of the property and the property should not be forfeited. | New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office | statement | Explanation of the rights of property claimants | Outlines the legal rights of those affected by the forfeiture | ||
| 3180 | U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of James Mottola, Special Agent in Charge of the Newark Office, and support from FinCEN, a bureau within the U.S. Department of the Treasury, with the ongoing investigation. | Paul J. Fishman | U.S. Attorney | New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office | statement | Acknowledgment of investigative efforts | Recognizes the agencies involved in the investigation of TCash |
| theme_id | theme_name | description | significance | related_statutes | geographic_scope | temporal_aspects | stakeholders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2129 | Law Enforcement Collaboration | The U.S. Secret Service and FinCEN collaborated in the investigation. | Demonstrates interagency cooperation in combating financial crimes. | National | Recent development | U.S. Secret Service, FinCEN, U.S. Attorney’s Office |
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