BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has indicted Georgina Fisher, also known as Georgina Baratta, 44, of Niagara Falls, NY, on charges of causing a financial institution to fail to file transaction reports. The charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney MaryEllen Kresse, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on nine occasions between Jan. 28, 2010 and February 8, 2010, Fisher traveled between various Western Union agents in Western New York and purchased four or five $500 money orders on each occasion. The defendant did so in order to avoid reporting requirements that are triggered by the purchase of more than $3,000 in money orders in one transaction or series of transactions.
The indictment is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service, under the direction Special Agent-in-Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
