New York, Feb 2 (IANS): A California businessman, Krishen Sauble Iyer, has been convicted of laundering money for a marijuana dealer.
The federal prosecutor for Eastern California Phillip A. Talbert said on Wednesday that Iyer, who lived in Fresno, had admitted his guilt.
According to documents, Iyer, who owned several insurance businesses, made a deal with a marijuana dealer to have money from selling the narcotics transferred to one of his companies, Health Shield.
He then returned the money to the dealer after taking a commission and disguising the payments as salaries, the prosecution said. He filed tax documents showing a payment of $111,952 in 2013 and $164,000 in 2014 even though the dealer had not worked for him.
The marijuana dealer was identified only as "S.V." in the court documents.
Iyer is to be sentenced by Judge Dale A. Drozd in April and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail and a $500,000 fine.