The reverend Abraham Kennard bilked hundreds of churches out of millions of dollars through a phony grant scheme. Abraham created the Network International Investment Corporation and then approached churches and other nonprofits with an offer: for every $3,000 in membership fees that an organization paid to the Network, the Network would award $500,000 in grants. Abraham told investors that the grants were possible because he had secured wealthy investors who would provide financing, and that the Network expected to earn a profit from its Christian resorts. More than 1,600 churches and other nonprofits paid Abraham over $8.7 million.

Abraham deposited the money into an escrow account in the name of his lawyer, and then transferred the money into another account in the name of Promotional Times International, Ltd., which was controlled by Abraham’s brother Laboyce Kennard.

The investors never received their money and Abraham was found guilty of various crimes. Laboyce was found guilty of money laundering. He appealed, arguing there was insufficient proof that he knowingly laundered money.

Questions:

1. Was there sufficient evidence that Laboyce knowingly laundered money?

2. What is money laundering?

3. How did the money laundering occur here?

4. If Laboyce did not commit the fraud, what crime did he commit?

5. How is that different than money laundering?