U.S. authorities announced Monday that they have charged two Canadians, along with a U.S.citizen, who were living and working in the Caribbean, with allegedly conspiring to help hide assets after they were caught in an undercover sting.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said that Joshua Vandyk, a U.S. citizen, and Eric St-Cyr and Patrick Poulin, Canadian citizens, were indicted for conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, and two counts of money laundering. The allegations have not been proven, and defendants in the U.S. are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
According to the indictment, Vandyk and St-Cyr lived in the Cayman Islands and worked for an investment firm, whose clientele included numerous U.S. citizens. Poulin is an attorney at a law firm based in Turks and Caicos.
U.S. authorities are alleging that the trio “conspired to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership and control of property believed to be the proceeds of bank fraud,” as part of sting that involved undercover law enforcement agents posing as U.S. clients who claimed to be seeking to launder criminal proceeds through an offshore structure designed to conceal the true identity of the assets’ owners.
All three defendants were arrested in Miami on March 12.
“These charges result from an extensive investigation and are the latest demonstration of the Department’s resolve to find and prosecute those who aid money laundering and tax fraud globally,” said deputy attorney general, James Cole.