Albany, Georgia convenience store and other businesses raided in money laundering investigation
Georgia law enforcement agents conducted three raids in Dougherty and Lee Counties on Friday including a convenient store in Albany, Georgia. The raids were conducted as part of an ongoing money laundering and racketeering investigation involving gambling machines.
WALB has the story.
One of the raids took place at the Stop and Shop located at 2201 South Liberty Expressway in Albany. During the raid, agents from the Dougherty County District Attorney’s Office seized numerous documents. Authorities say they are looking for evidence of money laundering.
The raids come on the heels of an investigation involving the illegal use of gambling machines. District Attorney Greg Edwards believes that money is being illegally transferred out of the state, and he further implied that the money may be used to fund terrorism.
If charges are filed, the parties involved will likely be charged under Georgia’s RICO statute for racketeering. Under Georgia law, a person convicted under the RICO statute would face a five to 20 year prison sentence. Our Georgia criminal attorneys have successfully represented numerous clients charged with RICO violations. In our experience, law enforcement will typically arrest and charge anyone who is remotely connected to any alleged RICO activity. This often results in innocent people being charged and prosecuted alongside the people who are directly responsible. In many cases, however, a good criminal defense attorney can get the charges dismissed or reduced by showing prosecutors that his client had no knowledge of any criminal activity.
