Serving Jersey City, Hudson County & all of New Jersey · Free Consultations · Se Habla Español
Serving Jersey City, Hudson County & all of New Jersey · Free Consultations · Se Habla Español
Money laundering in New Jersey is charged under N.J.S.A. 2C:21-25: transporting or possessing property known to be derived from criminal activity, engaging in transactions to conceal its source, or structuring transactions to avoid reporting requirements. It is graded by amount — $75,000 or more is a second-degree crime — and 2C:21-27 adds an anti-money laundering profiteering penalty of up to three times the value involved. Federal laundering is charged under 18 U.S.C. § 1956 in Newark.
2C:21-25 covers three kinds of conduct: transporting or possessing property known or believed to be the proceeds of criminal activity; engaging in a transaction involving such property with the intent to facilitate criminal activity, or knowing the transaction is designed to conceal its nature, source, ownership or control; and directing or facilitating transactions structured to evade a transaction-reporting requirement. The State must prove knowledge — that you knew or believed the money came from criminal activity. In practice that element is proved circumstantially, from the pattern of transactions, and it is contestable.
The penalties are what distinguish these cases. Grading follows the amount, reaching second degree at $75,000, and 2C:21-27 adds an anti-money laundering profiteering penalty — up to three times the value of the property involved — as a civil judgment on top of the criminal sentence, along with a requirement in specified circumstances that the laundering sentence run consecutively to the underlying offense. Structuring is charged even where the underlying money was lawful, which catches cash businesses that deposit below $10,000 to avoid paperwork.
The most common pairing in Hudson County
Proceeds of theft by deception moved between accounts
Under-$10,000 deposits to avoid CTR reporting
Restaurants, salons, car washes, convenience stores
Licensing and BSA compliance issues
Exchange and mixer activity treated as concealment
Contesting the 3× valuation
Recovering frozen accounts and property
Newark · Guidelines driven by value
| Amount involved | Grade | Prison exposure | Additional penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $75,000 | Third degree | 3–5 years | Profiteering penalty up to 3× value |
| $75,000–$500,000 | Second degree | 5–10 years | Profiteering penalty up to 3× value |
| $500,000 or more | First degree | 10–20 years | Profiteering penalty up to 3× value |
| Structuring transactions | Third degree | 3–5 years | Applies even to lawful funds |
| Federal 18 U.S.C. § 1956 | — | Up to 20 years | Fine up to $500,000 or 2× the value |
In Hudson County, laundering is a leverage charge. Added to a distribution or fraud indictment it raises the exposure, triggers the profiteering penalty, and complicates any plea. But it is a separate offense with its own elements, and it frequently rests on the same transactions as the predicate without independent proof that the client knew the funds were criminal proceeds or intended to conceal them. Where the predicate is weak, the laundering count is weaker.
For Jersey City’s many cash businesses, the structuring provision creates exposure without any underlying crime. Depositing $9,500 at a time because a bank charges for larger cash handling, or because an accountant advised it, is not the same as evading reporting with criminal intent — but it looks identical on a statement. Those cases are defended with the business records and the reason for the practice.
Yes, in structuring cases. Directing or facilitating transactions structured to evade a reporting requirement is an offense under 2C:21-25(c) regardless of whether the underlying funds were lawfully earned. Intent to evade the requirement is the contested element.
Under N.J.S.A. 2C:21-27, a monetary penalty of up to three times the value of the property involved, imposed in addition to any fine or prison sentence and entered as a civil judgment. Contesting the valuation is a core part of the defense.
Almost always, because laundering requires proceeds of criminal activity. The laundering count usually accompanies a drug, fraud or theft charge, and it frequently fails when the underlying charge is dismissed or reduced.
They can be, through seizure or forfeiture proceedings running parallel to the criminal case. These are separately contestable and should be addressed immediately, since a frozen operating account can shut down a business long before trial.
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Ibrahim & Ibrahim Law Firm
910 Bergen Ave, Suite 203
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Directions · a five-minute walk from Journal Square PATH; two blocks from the courthouse complex
