A Kearny man pleaded guilty to filing over $325 million in false currency transaction reports, among other crimes, related to his cash checking business, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Ali Hassanein, 68, of Kearny, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb in Camden federal court yesterday to an information charging him with conspiracy to cause a financial institution to file false currency transaction reports and operating and aiding and abetting the operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business.
“The Bank Secrecy Act imposes important requirements on financial institutions, including by requiring them and their executives to file accurate reports with the government concerning certain currency transactions, Sellinger said in a statement.
“These requirements play a vital role in helping law enforcement prevent, detect, and stop illicit activity. Ali Hassanein admitted that he and Galaxia flouted these requirements, which undermined the financial system and made Galaxia an easy target for bad actors. My office will continue to work to ensure that financial institutions who shirk their obligations and facilitate illicit activity are held accountable.”
From 2019 through February 2023, Hassanein owned and operated Galaxia International Services Inc. (Galaxia), a check casher and money service business that operated in New Jersey and other states.
Their website shows they had two offices in Jersey City, one in East Orange, and one in Brooklyn, while the criminal complaint mentions a Kearny location as well.
Under the Bank Secrecy Act and related regulations, Galaxia was required to file currency transaction reports (CTRs) for transactions involving more than $10,000 in currency.
CTRs are required to list, among other things, the location of the transactions and the names of the people and entities physically conducting the transactions.
Hassanein conducted more than $325 million in reportable check cashing transactions for a conspirator in exchange for a fee.
As a result, Hassanein caused Galaxia to file thousands of CTRs for those transactions that contained material misstatements and omissions.
For example, the CTRs falsely stated that all of the transactions had occurred at Galaxia’s East Orange location, where Galaxia had a license to conduct check cashing transactions.
However, the reality was that they had occurred in Jersey City or Kearny, where Galaxia was not licensed to conduct check cashing transactions.
All of the CTRs failed to list the conspirator as the conductor of the transactions. Hassanein also aided and abetted the conspirator’s operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business
The aforementioned charges each carry a statutory maximum prison sentence of five years and a statutory maximum fine of the greatest of $250,000, twice the gross amount of any pecuniary gain that any persons derived from the offense, or twice the gross amount of any pecuniary loss sustained by any victims of the offense, whichever is greatest.
Hassanein’s sentencing is scheduled for April 2nd, 2025.
Sellinger credited special agents and task force officers of the Internal Revenue Service, special agents and task force officers with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and special agents of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of Inspector General, New York Division, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.
He also thanked the Justice Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) and Morristown Police Department for their assistance in the investigation.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.
OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found here.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marko Pesce and Fatime Cano of the Economic Crimes Unit and Peter A. Laserna of the Asset Recovery and Money Laundering Unit in Newark.
