Real Estate Developer Sentenced to Prison for Money Laundering Scheme

Strategic Insights -

Shimon Haber, a real estate developer, was sentenced to five months in prison and five months of home confinement for conspiring to launder money in exchange for official approvals from a Union City official. Haber, who pleaded guilty to the charges, admitted to conspiring to launder $24,000 through a charitable entity to fund a Union City official's political committee. The sentence was imposed in Newark federal court by Judge Jose L. Linares, who also ordered Haber to serve two years of supervised release and pay a fine of $4,000.

Key Takeaways:

  • Shimon Haber, a 34-year-old real estate developer from Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced to five months in prison and five months of home confinement for conspiring to launder money.
  • Haber pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with conspiracy to launder money to conceal and promote unlawful activity in exchange for official approvals to develop property in Union City, New Jersey.
  • Haber admitted to conspiring to launder $24,000 through a charitable entity called Gmach Shefa Chaim to fund a Union City official's political committee.
  • The scheme involved Haber meeting with co-conspirators Michael Altman and Itzhak Friedlander to negotiate the terms of the money laundering arrangement.
  • Friedlander is scheduled for sentencing on July 14, 2010, and Altman is pending indictment for his involvement in the scheme.
  • The investigation, which resulted in the charging of 44 individuals, was led by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation Division.

Statistics:

  • 44 individuals were charged in criminal Complaints as a result of the two-track undercover FBI investigation into political corruption and international money laundering.
  • The investigation uncovered a scheme to launder $24,000 in exchange for official approvals from a Union City official.
  • Haber was sentenced to five months in prison and five months of home confinement as part of his sentence.
  • Haber was also ordered to serve two years of supervised release and pay a fine of $4,000 as part of his sentence.

Sources:

  • Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
  • United States Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey
  • United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
  • Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation Division