Framingham Man Sentenced to Prison for Operating an Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business
2024-04-05 · Press release
BOSTON – A Framingham man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
Luiz DaSilva, 69, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 18 months in prison and two years of supervised release. On Nov. 27, 2023, the defendant pleaded guilty to operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business.
DaSilva was arrested on Dec. 15, 2022 for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business out of Framingham. Under federal law, entities who transfer funds on behalf of the public, are required to register with the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network within 180 days of commencing services. Registration is required to protect against United States financial institutions being used for money laundering and other illicit activities. DaSilva never registered his business with FinCEN. However, between at least 2018 and 2020, DaSilva regularly accepted cash from numerous parties that he transferred to Florida-based bank accounts without registration with FinCEN. These transactions amounted to approximately $4.9 million dollars in a two-year period. The defendant structured his cash transactions to avoid any one transaction being more than $10,000, which requires reporting by the financial institution of the transaction to the federal government.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; and Framingham Police Chief Lester Baker made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Mulcahy of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.
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- https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/framingham-man-sentenced-prison-operating-unlicensed-money-transmitting-business
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| participant_id | name | role | title | organization | location | age | nationality | status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1264 | Luiz DaSilva | defendant | Framingham | 69 | sentenced | |||
| 1265 | Nathaniel M. Gorton | judge | U.S. District Court Judge | U.S. District Court | Boston | |||
| 1266 | Joshua S. Levy | prosecutor | Acting United States Attorney | U.S. Attorney's Office | Boston | |||
| 1267 | Stephen Belleau | law enforcement | Acting Special Agent in Charge | Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division | New England | |||
| 1268 | Lester Baker | police chief | Police Chief | Framingham Police Department | Framingham | |||
| 1269 | John T. Mulcahy | prosecutor | Assistant U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney's Office | Boston |
| agency_id | agency_name | abbreviation | role | office_location | agents_mentioned | contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 797 | United States Attorney's Office | prosecution | Boston | Joshua S. Levy, John T. Mulcahy | Prosecuted the case and participated in the announcement | |
| 798 | Drug Enforcement Administration | DEA | investigation | New England Field Division | Stephen Belleau | Conducted the investigation and participated in the announcement |
| 799 | Framingham Police Department | arrest | Framingham | Lester Baker | Assisted in the arrest and participated in the announcement |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 629 | Operating an unlicensed money transmitting business | Luiz DaSilva | pleaded guilty | 1 | enrichment | 2026-09-16T19:45:55+00:00 | ||||||||
| 2573 | operating an unlicensed money transmitting business | 1 | press | 2026-09-16T19:45:55+00:00 | ||||||||||
| 2574 | operating an unlicensed money transmitting business out of Framingham | 1 | press | 2026-09-16T19:45:55+00:00 | ||||||||||
| 2575 | unlicensed money transmitting business | 1 | press | 2026-09-16T19:45:55+00:00 | ||||||||||
| 2576 | unlicensed money transmitting business out of Framingham | 1 | press | 2026-09-16T19:45:55+00:00 |
| fin_id | action_type | amount | currency | description | asset_type | defendant | status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 178 | Luiz DaSilva |
| victim_id | victim_type | description | number_affected | loss_amount | geographic_scope | vulnerability_factors | impact_description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 142 |
| quote_id | quote_text | speaker_name | speaker_title | speaker_organization | quote_type | context | significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 577 | Registration is required to protect against United States financial institutions being used for money laundering and other illicit activities. | U.S. Department of Justice | statement | Explanation of the legal requirement for money transmitting businesses | Highlights the importance of registration to prevent financial crimes |
| theme_id | theme_name | description | significance | related_statutes | geographic_scope | temporal_aspects | stakeholders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 715 | Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business | Operating a money transmitting business without registering with FinCEN as required by federal law. | Violates federal regulations designed to prevent illicit financial activities and money laundering. | 18 U.S.C. § 1960 | National | 2018-2020 | Law enforcement, Financial institutions, FinCEN |
| 716 | Money Laundering | The unregistered business was used to transfer funds to avoid detection of illicit activities. | Undermines financial transparency and enables criminal proceeds to enter legitimate systems. | National | 2018-2020 | Law enforcement, Financial institutions, Victims | |
| 717 | Structuring Financial Transactions | Splitting transactions under $10,000 to evade mandatory federal reporting requirements. | Intentional circumvention of anti-money laundering safeguards. | 31 U.S.C. § 5324 | National | 2018-2020 | Law enforcement, Financial institutions |
| 718 | FinCEN Registration Requirements | Failure to register with FinCEN within 180 days of commencing money transmitting services. | Critical for tracking illicit financial flows and enforcing compliance. | National | 2018-2020 | FinCEN, Financial institutions, Law enforcement |
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