Money Laundering - Laws, Penalties & Defenses in Colorado

CRS § 18-5-309 is the Colorado statute that prohibits money laundering, defined as concealing the origins of illegally-obtained money by passing it through commercial or banking transactions.

Money laundering in Colorado is a class 3 felony carrying four to 12 years in prison and fines of $3,000 to $750,000. Additionally, you may have to forfeit assets obtained through money laundering.

In this article, our Denver Colorado criminal defense lawyers discuss the following topics:

1. Legal definition

In Colorado, money laundering typically involves transferring money that you know came from illegal activities in order to conceal the illegal source. In short, you put “dirty money” through a normal financial transaction to make it appear clean.

Examples of money laundering in violation of CRS 18-5-309 are:

Paying for a car with cash you received from selling cocaine.
Running the proceeds you received from human trafficking through multiple financial transactions to disguise the original source.
Transferring illegal gambling earnings to offshore accounts to avoid federal reporting requirements.

Therefore, money laundering is more than just making money from a crime. It involves trying to thwart the government’s ability to trace the money’s origins.¹

gavel, handcuffs and stack of $100 bills to illustrate money laundering in violation of CRS 18-5-309.

Money laundering is a class 3 felony in Colorado.

2. Defenses

Here at Colorado Legal Defense Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with financial crimes such as money laundering. Since a key element of CRS 18-5-309 is that you knew the money at issue involved illegal activities, one of our most effective defenses is to claim that you genuinely did not realize the money was “dirty.”

Depending on the specifics of your case, we may be able to persuade the state to drop your money laundering charges by arguing:

You did not know you were purchasing stolen property.
You did not knowingly conduct a transaction that was the result of a criminal act.
You were not intentionally concealing or disguising the nature of the money or monetary instruments.
The money was not intended to facilitate any criminal acts.
The failure to report transactions was unintentional, or the transactions did not actually need to be reported.

Another potential defense to money laundering charges is that the police committed misconduct by:

searching you without a search warrant or without a legal justification for a warrantless search;
coercing your confession;
entrapping you; or
arresting you without probable cause.

Police routinely monitor financial transactions for signs of money laundering, and sometimes they zero in on people who are completely innocent. Perhaps you were being used as a pawn in a greater scheme that you had no knowledge of and did not knowingly participate in.

If we can persuade the court to suppress any evidence the police found through unlawful means, the state may be left with too weak a case to prosecute you.

3. Full text of CRS 18-5-309

Colorado’s money laundering statute reads as follows:

Money laundering – illegal investments – penalty – definitions.

(1) A person commits money laundering if he or she:

(a) Conducts or attempts to conduct a financial transaction that involves money or any other thing of value that he or she knows or believes to be the proceeds, in any form, of a criminal offense:
(I) With the intent to promote the commission of a criminal offense; or
(II) With knowledge or a belief that the transaction is designed in whole or in part to:
(A) Conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, or control of the proceeds of a criminal offense; or
(B) Avoid a transaction reporting requirement under federal law;

(b) Transports, transmits, or transfers a monetary instrument or moneys:
(I) With the intent to promote the commission of a criminal offense; or
(II) With knowledge or a belief that the monetary instrument or moneys represent the proceeds of a criminal offense and that the transportation, transmission, or transfer is designed, in whole or in part, to:
(A) Conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, or control of the proceeds of a criminal offense; or
(B) Avoid a transaction reporting requirement under federal law; or

(c) Intentionally conducts a financial transaction involving property that is represented to be the proceeds of a criminal offense, or involving property that the person knows or believes to have been used to conduct or facilitate a criminal offense, to:
(I) Promote the commission of a criminal offense;
(II) Conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, or control of property that the person believes to be the proceeds of a criminal offense; or
(III) Avoid a transaction reporting requirement under federal law.

(2) Money laundering is a class 3 felony.

(3) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) “Conducts or attempts to conduct a financial transaction” includes, but is not limited to, initiating, concluding, or participating in the initiation or conclusion of a transaction.

(b) “Financial transaction” means a transaction involving:
(I) The movement of moneys by wire or other means;
(II) One or more monetary instruments;
(III) The transfer of title to any real property, vehicle, vessel, or aircraft; or
(IV) The use of a financial institution.

(c) “Monetary instrument” means:
(I) Coin or currency of the United States or any other country; a traveler’s check; a personal check; a bank check; a cashier’s check; a money order; a bank draft of any country; or gold, silver, or platinum bullion or coins;
(II) An investment security or negotiable instrument in bearer form or in other form such that title passes upon delivery; or
(III) A gift card or other device that is the equivalent of money and can be used to obtain cash, property, or services.

(d) “Represent” includes, but is not limited to, the making of a representation by a peace officer, a federal officer, or another person acting at the direction of, or with the approval of, a peace officer or federal officer.

(e) “Transaction” includes a purchase, sale, loan, pledge, gift, transfer, delivery, or other disposition and, with respect to a financial institution, includes a deposit; a withdrawal; a transfer between accounts; an exchange of currency; a loan; an extension of credit; a purchase or sale of any stock, bond, certificate of deposit, or other monetary instrument; the use of a safe deposit box; or any other payment, transfer, or delivery by, through, or to a financial institution by whatever means.

4. Federal law

Money laundering is both a federal crime and a Colorado crime. Although the laws are very similar, the penalty ranges are different.

Whereas Colorado law imposes four to 12 years in prison for money laundering, federal law imposes up to 20 years in prison.

Fine-wise, Colorado law imposes between $3,000 and $750,000 for money laundering. Meanwhile, federal court imposes the greater of:

up to $500,000 or
twice the value of the property involved in the transaction.²

You can be charged in both federal court and Colorado court for the same alleged act of money laundering. In practice however, federal prosecutors concentrate on the more serious cases that involve interstate commerce while state prosecutors handle the lower-level cases.

No matter what court you are prosecuted in, the government will try to seize your assets involved in the alleged money laundering scheme. “Asset forfeiture” is a very complicated judicial process, and the government must comply with various procedural rules before it can lawfully keep your property.

Knowledge of the money’s illegal origins is an element of CRS 18-5-309 violations.

5. Related Offenses

Many money laundering schemes involve the following crimes:

Health Care Fraud (CRS § 18-5-211) – This typically involves patients trying to get benefits they are not entitled to or providers trying to receive payments they did not earn.
Embezzlement (CRS § 18-4-401) – Embezzlement is keeping money or property you were temporarily entrusted with, such as a jewelry store clerk stealing the merchandise.
Insurance Fraud (CRS § 18-5-309) – This is deliberately making false claims or giving false information to get insurance benefits.
Racketeering (CRS 18-17-104) – Racketeering charges are reserved for cases involving organized crime, such as drug rings, illegal gambling rings, and loan-sharking.
Gang crimes – Colorado does not have a specific gang crime or enhancement, but gang-related activities could factor into the judge’s sentencing considerations.

Additional resources

For more information, refer to the following:

Legal References

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CRS § 18-5-309 – Money Laundering Laws, Penalties & Defenses in Colorado