In court, Kay admitted that between January of 1995 and March of 2011, he conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana. The defendant testified that he specialized in high-quality marijuana, worth about $5,000 per pound. He also admitted that from 2001 through 2009, he transported stolen merchandise, specifically, gem stones. To that end, he conspired with an unnamed co-conspirator who was employed at the time at Sterling Jewelers, Inc. Sterling is a large distributor of diamonds, with more than 1,300 stores nationwide. The unnamed co-conspirator had access to company jewels, and supplied Kay with diamonds and other jewels stolen from the company. Kay then transported those stolen gem stones to Minnesota. According to the superseding indictment, Kay made about ten trips between Minnesota and Ohio for that purpose between 2001 and 2009 and transported a total of between 50 to 100 stolen gems.
Kay also admitted in court to 11 separate counts of money laundering. Kay testified that on three occasions, he conducted financial transactions with banks that involved the proceeds of drug trafficking. Kay also admitted that on eight occasions, he engaged in conduct known as “structuring.” Banks, merchants, and even post offices are required by law to submit a currency transaction report to the Secretary of the Treasury when cash transactions exceed certain amounts, specifically, $10,000 for banks and merchants and $3,000 for the post office. Those requirements are designed to track the flow of cash in the U.S. Kay intentionally conducted multiple smaller transactions for the purpose of evading the requirements, which is a violation of federal law.
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