SAN DIEGO – A prominent 65-year-old criminal attorney plead guilty Tuesday to money laundering drug profits for a narcotics trafficker.
James Warner, of San Diego, is facing up to 23 years in federal prison when he is sentenced in October, officials said.
Warner, who has practiced law for nearly 40 years, plead guilty to two federal felony offenses, admitting that he laundered $100,000 of a client’s drug trafficking proceeds and then tampered with a potential witness in the case.
“Individuals who assist drug traffickers in their endeavors will be held just as accountable as the person who is actually selling the drugs,” Drug Enforcement Administration San Diego Special Agent in Charge William R. Sherman said. “Regardless of your profession, if you assist drug dealers with their criminal activities, you will be punished. The fines assessed show the seriousness of getting involved in this kind of illegal activity.”
According to court documents, federal drug agents searched the home and business of one of Warner’s clients in May of 2012. The drug trafficker told Warner that agents had overlooked $100,000 in cash during their search, and Warner agreed to conceal the money.
As part of the money laundering scheme, authorities said Warner took the $100,000 – which he knew to be drug proceeds – and invested it in an off-shore business.
Warner used his own funds from his U.S. bank accounts and wired approximately $99,965 to an off-shore bank account in the British Virgin Islands, court documents indicate.
Officials said Warner then structured the $100,000 he received from the drug trafficker into his personal and business bank accounts to further conceal and disguise the nature of the drug proceeds.
Structuring is the breaking up of cash deposits under $10,000 to avoid bank reporting requirements.
In addition, Warner created a fictitious corporation named Grenadine Development Inc., and opened a bank account in the name of Grenadine Development Inc., to issue checks to the drug trafficker.
To further conceal his criminal activity, officials maintain that Warner admitted that he failed to file an IRS Form 8300 “Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 received in a trade or business” which was required to be filed by Warner when he received currency greater than $10,000 in his business as an attorney.
Warner also admitted that he tampered with a witness when he told his client, a drug trafficker identified as “T.K.,” that he should pay legal fees of another drug trafficker to Warner, to prevent him from cooperating against T.K. Warner further told T.K. that if a court-appointed taxpayer-funded lawyer would “squeeze” the other trafficker to cooperate against T.K., according to court documents.
Federal search warrants were executed at Warner’s law office and his residence on September 11, 2013, following an investigation by IRS – Criminal Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration/Narcotics Task Force.
As part of his guilty plea, officials said Warner agreed to a criminal forfeiture in the amount of $100,000 – the sum that was laundered.
Warner also agreed to administratively forfeit approximately $200,080 in cash which was seized from his law office during the execution of a federal search warrant, along with $34,527.60 seized from Warner’s personal and business accounts.