The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) last week presented its second annual Law Enforcement Awards in a ceremony at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

FinCEN’s aims to safeguard the financial system from illicit use and combat money laundering and promote national security through the collection, analysis, and dissemination of financial intelligence and strategic use of financial authorities. FinCEN awards recognize partnership between law enforcement and financial institutions to fight financial crime.

The program included six award categories recognizing achievements in combating significant threats to the integrity of the financial system and the safety of the communities: SAR Review Task Force, Transnational Organized Crime, Transnational Security Threat, Third Party Money Laundering, Significant Fraud, and Cyber Threats.

The New York State Police won an award for investigating a case in which a college student moved over $250,000 in less than six months and tracing specific banking transactions conducted by the student to the purchases of virtual currency and then to the Dark Web market.

The New York State Police SAR Review Team based in Albany identified unsourced cash deposits totaling over $170,000 made by an unemployed college student, with more than 20 structured below the CTR reporting threshold.

Further investigations revealed that the student moved over $250,000 in less than six months through two financial institutions via deposits under the CTR reporting threshold, or virtual currency purchases and sales.

The investigators, in cooperation with the virtual currency businesses, developed a lead in an illicit Dark Web-based market used for the specific purpose of buying/selling illegal and illicit items. They also discovered the school where the subject attended, and the local university police advised that the subject was possibly involved in distribution of drugs on campus.

In cooperation with the local county drug task force, the local district attorney’s office, and the county court, investigators came to know that the subject was running a large scale drug operation on the campus, and developed a financial history of how the subject was purchasing drugs using Bitcoin.

The New York State Police arrested the subject, along with seizure of large amounts of illegal drugs. The subject was successfully prosecuted.