Former Banker Pleads Guilty to Laundering Funds
A former Orange County banker pleaded guilty Friday to laundering money paid by Taiwanese nationals who allegedly obtained American citizenship by fraud.
Henry Lee, 37, of Hacienda Heights was indicted by a Los Angeles federal grand jury with three others in October.
Lee was employed by the Pan American National Bank in Santa Ana. He pleaded guilty to advising another defendant to break down large cash transactions at the bank into amounts under $10,000 to avoid banking rules that require reports of all deposits and withdrawals of $10,000 or more.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laurie Levenson said Lee faces a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $10,000 fine when sentenced April 14 by U.S. District Judge Alicemarie Stotler.
The three others indicted with Lee are scheduled to stand trial on Feb. 11. The indictment charges them with coaching Taiwanese to lie during citizenship hearings, persuading witnesses to lie for the illegal aliens and getting government workers to grant citizenship petitions.
The illegal aliens each paid the defendants up to $65,000 for citizenship, the indictment says.
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