BEVERLY HILLS, LOS ANGELES -- A Beverly Hills business that rented safety deposit boxes to customers who were not required to use their real identities will plead guilty to money laundering, admitting in federal court that it sought drug traffickers and other criminals as customers who often kept stacks of illegally obtained cash in their personal vaults, according to court papersU.S. Private Vaults, a Nevada-based company that operated on West Olympic Boulevard, was raided by the FBI and the U.
The company admitted to having recruited as its customers drug traffickers and other criminals"who paid over $550,000 in cash and bitcoin in exchange for the anonymous use of safety deposit boxes to store the proceeds of their offenses, most often in stacks of $100 bills,'' according to the agreement filed in Los Angeles federal court.
A date has not yet been set for the now-defunct business to formally plead guilty through its attorney to the charge of conspiracy to launder money. A status conference is scheduled for March 21.The plea agreement states that U.S. Private Vaults gives up its right to appeal its sentence provided the court imposes a fine of no more than $5 million, a probationary sentence of no longer than five years, and an order of restitution of $10 million or less.
In the indictment, Los Angeles prosecutors allege that U.S. Private Vaults adopted"business practices that attracted customers in possession of proceeds from criminal offenses, including drug trafficking'' and other crimes.