For folks living in the United States, participating in this sort of thing is a federal crime and will land you on the radar of the US Office of Foreign Assets Control
If you don't go broke defending yourself from the federal indictment first, you'll likely go broke while you're in federal prison
If you don't go broke defending yourself from the federal indictment first, you'll likely go broke while you're in federal prison
Reposted from
Connor Lynch
I dug it out of the reposts to figure it out.
good god how stupid would someone have to be to listen to this person. Insane.
good god how stupid would someone have to be to listen to this person. Insane.
Comments
You do not want the scrutiny this invites. Either the legal scrutiny or the financial kind from your bank. Because it's going to be flagged as suspicious and possibly illegal.
it's hard to imagine any way this *doesn't* end badly for everyone involved
What was being criticized was the specific practice of Structuring payments to get around AML controls, and influencers / news aggregators helpfully suggesting pro-tips for engaging in activities they don't understand on a fundamental.
It's... not exactly legal, though I understand the desperation leading to suggesting it. People are dying horribly.
https://bsky.app/profile/gregdoucette.bsky.social/post/3lqd2lqiaxc2p
https://bsky.app/profile/gregdoucette.bsky.social/post/3lqbyq33nlk2p
I would not donate to someone who volunteers as a pass-through in what would be, unfortunately, indistinguishable from money laundering. Do what you can, but don't do something that feels unsafe.
the OFAC website specifically says transactions between individuals in America and individual Palestinians not named on sanctions lists are legal.
Could you show where they are illegal, with reference to OFAC?
I will wait.
https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information/counter-terrorism-sanctions/palestinian-authority
If anyone wants to give me money (not for charity, just to give me your money) I can receive it on my own, no need for a special receiver; my bank does that for me.
Genuinely curious, would love to learn what the law is, and where black / white / grey is on this kind of financial support.
The Law Offices of T. Greg Doucette PLLC
311 E Main Street
Durham NC 27701-3717
I went to Duke 20 years ago and still think of Randy’s Pizza fondly (which appears to have opened more locations in the interim).
Really, really good NY style slices.
That isn’t the same thing as *being* a bad lawyer. Or, you know, he wouldn’t have gotten that other job that paid so much more than running his own office?
You wanna think about that a little longer, champ?
The Law Offices of T. Greg Doucette PLLC
attn: Snort My Taint Department
311 E Main Street
Durham NC 27701-3717
Even if it’s not a crime it has all the characteristics of being one of those things that DHS/USCIS can use to attack “good moral character” and make you fail Part 9 of N-400.
There are rules about how and when you can bring money out of the United States or into it.
It's not about the victims. It's about the performance.
But it hasn't stopped people from piling into my @'s whining about how I clearly hate Gazans
PS:Sarcasm.
However, the same method is used for a lot of crimes, and the orgs that watch for money crimes, are very aware of those methods.
Say, A wants to send money to B but their bank etc. cannot. Instead, A sends to C and C forwards to B. /1
She appears to be recruiting people to act as C and forward money to people possibly doing crimes. /2
Possible outcomes include reports to law enforcement, closure of bank accounts, and blacklisting from financial services for being shady/dumb. /fin
You can literally just ask Molly what it's about and how it works. It's about being a mediator to get the donated funds to someone who likely doesn't have a bank account.
Read the thread @kathryntewson.bsky.social had about this topic. Some people need to read it fucking twice.
Which do you suppose is worse?
The irony being that genocide and funding someone participating in genocide is explicitly illegal, and the US does it anyway.
It was not meant to imply anything but hypocrisy of the U.S. gov.
Spoiler: I did know the answer to the question. That was part of the point.
The U.S. funding genocide against its own laws against genocide is pretty ironic.
Go look at your post.
It’s gone better in the past.
It’s all good, man. Sometimes people get it, sometimes they don’t.
But they're boring and dumb so they just get blocked before they make too much noise.
Makes the conversation a bit ironic considering the crimes of the U.S. government according to its own law, and how selective it can be in upholding its own law.
Wire fraud will be prosecuted.
Genocide will not.
I’m not sure who you mean by “you folks”… people like me who point out government hypocrisy?
That’s not usually considered stupid. Especially when accurate.
I’ve known Greg for several years on SM and can unequivocally guarantee there are few other ppl on this earth who know better than he that the U.S. government can be very selective about enforcing its laws.
Instead people thought it was a shot at Greg. It was not.
I went too minimalistic. More context would have helped.
This isn’t a guy who thinks “genocide is kewl”.
"the law says THIS actually so I'm COMPLETELY SAFE and CANNOT BE HARMED FURTHER"
vs reality, where someone persuades 23 grand jury members to drown you in legal fees for a decade, no matter how right you are
They don't have to answer to any local community and certainly not to parasocials.
Very happy to have found the root cause of all this grift.
Did some regulators already start some investigations?
Could you show where they are illegal, with reference to OFAC?
I will wait.
https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information/counter-terrorism-sanctions/palestinian-authority
Also *you’re
https://bsky.app/profile/lizardky.bsky.social/post/3lqatmejrrc2c
Criticizing you is not criticizing genocide. You are not victims, you don't get the same consideration.
Not bothering to understand what those legal risks or thinking you can outwit the law is foolishness.
Duping others into taking the fall is just asshole behavior.
Agreeing to use your personal bank acc as a node in a financial chain where you don’t know the origins of the cash / end recipient, is the sort of thing that screams ‘money laundering’
You deposit it, then transfer back $15,000 to me.
You get to keep $5,000 just for helping me out.
Besides I think somebody else posted that whatever she's doing is a crime here as well.
People are saying "doing this in this way carries legal risks, please know them so you can be forewarned, some of the risks include x, y, and z."
when your vetting process includes "Reverse Image search" and "vibes" as major components.
https://bsky.app/profile/iguandonjim.bsky.social/post/3lqctjd27u22m
That’s never happened before.
Good God she needs a grown-up.
"Defendant did not reply to my legally binding cease-and-desist skeet"
Judge: "Oh....in that case...."
https://bsky.app/profile/chrisfleming.bsky.social/post/3lqau2ytzdk2t
https://bsky.app/profile/mommunism.bsky.social/post/3lqauixdkj22p
And honestly, I owe him a Ward 8 or two, good looking out, bro.
didn't she, uh, threaten you first? lmao
If she was remotely serious about suing him, she'd already have that information. This is a text-based medium, if she saw it that means it's already documented in writing and available for her to save.
Then I pointed out that's not an overwhelming number
like sure, it’s meltdown may, everyone has at least a small chance of this…. but choosing to get atomically corncobbed under a picture of your full government id is really something
https://bsky.app/profile/celestinakitty.bsky.social/post/3lqaumxskbc24
the reaching some people do.
What if effective action rather than whatever this is?
Or is this just a ego and virtue signaling thing? Cuz it seems like ego and virtue signaling thing.
Also, don't you have to specify what actions have to cease in a c&d
https://bsky.app/profile/djdunclive.bsky.social/post/3lqawdnfuyk2e
Organizations like UNWRA and UNICEF are working in Gaza, and are perfectly legal for Americans to donate to. Do that
I would absolutely hemorrhage money if I were sued for libelslander here
"We are not responsible for what Organizers promise or offer in their Fundraisers. We are also not responsible for verifying information that appears on Fundraisers, nor do we guarantee that donations will be used in accordance with any fundraising purpose prescribed by a User or Fundraiser."
(gods, i forgot a lot from my law class and it shows)
These guys are as dumb as Vicstains but they're way more pretentious which makes it funnier https://bsky.app/profile/bassofpj.bsky.social/post/3lqbpdstd6t25
Yes, I was already preparing to stand, and the chair in question is a bar stool, but I still think it counts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWjcbw1p28E
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structuring?wprov=sfla1
https://bsky.app/profile/sky.skymarchini.net/post/3lqdr4okhwk2f
FASCIST MUCH
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/04/1162611
https://www.worldcentralkitchen.org/news/gaza-update-5-7
https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/emergencies/gaza-and-israel-emergency-appeal/gaza-blockade-leading-to-widespread-suffering/
I help individuals I personally know and can verify. It helps those people. But it isn’t a structural fix. Sadly.
And not about the potential plight of some extremely comfortable white westerners boldly contravening Stringer Bell’s First Rule Of Criminal Conspiracies
Are you the guy that did the Vic thread?
(Welcome back, fellow threadnought follower!)
Yeah, this admin is definitely gonna try to make examples out of people. People need to be aware of this shit before they decide what to do so they can try and defend themselves in the future.
Then it actually happened. Several people were shot, including 2 women (cont')
It wasn't. That shooting hit the national news cycle. Reddit Inc. banned the subreddit in under 48 hours.
Why are people so stupid?
(gestures at everything)
That almost sounds like they care more about being able to easily charge people (and freeze/seize their accounts) than they care about ensuring otherwise blameless people acting in good faith aren't swept up as well.
In my US Government?!?
The problem is, the government will PRESUME your intent based on conduct, get an indictment based on that presumption, and now you are in court having to rebut that (yes, I know about the presumption of innocence; I'm talking practical law here).
I, for one, try to avoid situations where a false positive could land me in prison and/or block my access to the banking system.
They are broad, brutal, give states a lot of discretion and are backed up with enforceable agreements between states.
* Someone sets up a GoFundMe linked to an American's bank account, to raise money for someone in Gaza
* The American takes the cash and transfers it to the person in Gaza...
Like a wide open freeway.
"Someone somewhere might once have thought a nice thing about Hamas or Hezbollah" would likely be the standard they'd use.
Not going to tell anyone not to do crimes, but you know how the Baretta theme song goes...
https://youtu.be/5HNWhVXcjV8
It is hugely awfully risky because it is close enough to illegal activity your bank account could be frozen while they investigate.
But would you trust federal agents to get it right? Or just avoid the risk altogether.
A)are currently acting within the law
B)know/believe the current regime is already going to fuck with them because of their legal activity
C)decide taking another legal action is worth the relative risk
It's just random skeeters can't evaluate their risk.
Relative risk vs necessity of action is sort of hard to judge though under the current regime.
https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-list-service
The assumption that everyone asking for money to survive a genocide is trying to evade sanctions is outright racist.
Wtf do you think "resist" means? "Do the easiest possible thing and cave the second it's hard"?
Why are you spending your precious energy heckling people who are trying to help? What does that make you?
It is a literal fact that GFM was willing to help Palestinians and that the US govt is interfering there.
That's all I said. You invented a strawman to fuss at. Stop it.
SHOCKED to discover that there were people on the edges of the movement
Who would suggest you go do stupidly illegal things
And somehow ended up being cops
Not saying these folks are cops
Just that the cops would be happy to find people following this advice
people should definitely be aware that they may be taking that risk. Being innocent, as we’ve seen a lot recently here, is not much of a defense.
* she specifically asked us to bully her into studying more and I am a good boss.
This is like her bat signal.
https://xkcd.com/386/
(Yes, just rewatched the real Lilo&Stitch, and somehow, that line -- particularly Lilo's calm delivery -- just resonated with your post. Look, my brain is a pachinko machine on a runaway mine cart.)
(Rhetorical. I know why. Lmao)
If there were some way to get them money (unlikely), how would that help when there is a blockade on food?
(Genuinely trying to figure out what the latest twist of all of this is.)
https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/ofac-around-and-find-out
But what I can tell you is this: you will get your bank account closed and find it very hard to open a new one. TBH, I would rather do a couple of months in prison than find myself debanked.
If you want to offer your bank account to be a mule, go for it. I suspect you'll find even non-US countries have similar regulations on their financial institutions
Asking people to do crimes on social media is generally legal in the US. Non-speech action to help ppl be mules is not
he’s even calling them all “mules” which assumes criminal intent
wish we’d stop giving white male lawyers movement cred because they cannot be trusted
That's literally what being a receiver is
using your lawyer cred to publicly build a criminal case against this group of people on bluesky…people do get paid for this kind of work
It's just so FREAKISHLY ass backwards of you...
It's a big part of how criminal defense attorneys are able to keep putting food on the table, I guess? 😂
Facts have little power in the face of unearned confidence of that magnitude.
"If you don't think my proposed solution to a problem will work, you must support the problem!"
Or are your donations enabling a hyper inflated black market where aid gets diverted by ppl who are profiting off of desperation?
That gets an auto-block.
But when people looking into it kept seeing posts that lined up with scam farms multiple timezones away and not Gaza? That's a clue
I get there _are_ a handful of Gazans onsite and obviously they deserve respect and to be listened to.
But it is so obvious that 95% of the supposed entreaties for help are _not_ from imperiled Palestinians and I feel like people are being extremely, dangerously credulous.
Assume anything on the internet that wants your money is a scam until proven otherwise.
I'm very concerned how credulous people are about obvious scams because they are (absolutely rightfully!) appalled by what is going on.
I've donated to MSF and WCK to help in Gaza, not trusted random users I don't know from Adam.
/s
Be safe y'all.
https://bsky.app/profile/victimsofmommunism.bsky.social
Signed,
Random gov atty
the OFAC website specifically says transactions between individuals in America and individual Palestinians not named on sanctions lists are legal.
Could you show where they are illegal, with reference to OFAC?
I will wait.
https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information/counter-terrorism-sanctions/palestinian-authority
So long as the recipient is not Palestinian Authority or Hamas or on a sanctions list, it is lawful.
Read the last sentence as well.
https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information/counter-terrorism-sanctions/palestinian-authority
Do you think every Palestinian, all two million Palestinians in Gaza, are Hamas?
But this person, and people like her, are incredibly fucking stupid and cannot read.
The only way that info couldn't apply *harder* is if the entire group ceased to exist and the webpage taken down.
https://bsky.app/profile/bentwhee.bsky.social/post/3lqawm6oi5c2i
NB: the lolol is at the obvious way Molly’s “system” attracts grifters.
And giving money to scammers is like giving honey to ants. It's not gonna attract bees, you're just gonna get a fuckton of ants
I was sticking to the normal "Even pre-Trump OFAC will wreck your sh*t for being a sanctioned party mule"
On the same note - people should be informed when there is risk in following advice.
It’s not racist or pro-facism to warn people about OFAC.
Do it through any of the numerous orgs that are legitimate. They can both use the money more efficiently (Product of scale) and you're not potentially sending money to people that would make Sean Combs blush.
What I don’t want to do, is assume that individuals are all scams. There are a lot of super-duper racist folks that get off on that talk.
In summary, don’t become a target of the law, trying to help someone in need. Protect yourself while doing good. 🙂
It's just the current humanitarian crisis they are using for this. They used Ukraine a few years back.
Not saying anything about you, I’m just saying I don’t want to be someone that throws mud and hits a real struggling person or family.
The situation requires nuance. And I grew up while they were doing the "Nigerian Prince" scam. Which was based on a real situation. Watching a ton of people that are *my* age fail to internalize that scams exist, or just say that it's comparable to giving panhandlers money is bad.
https://bsky.app/profile/gregdoucette.bsky.social/post/3lqatmophnc2m
Wait, so this has happened before? I’m reading this wrong, right? Right??
It might be nothing but I’m just like
If you're producing kits, add this template.
Kinda late to this one. Is that name for real?
Did I just lose "Onion or Real"?
(NO I AM NOT GOING TO DO THIS, I AM SIMPLY CURIOUS)
There's a reason every financial account I've ever opened asked me if I was a US citizen. (I'm not)
It's mostly for taxes, but the US is absurdly extraterritorial about financial stuff.
Could you show where they are illegal, with reference to OFAC?
I will wait.
https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information/counter-terrorism-sanctions/palestinian-authority
Skeet less. Read more.
I read the OFAC website on Gaza
https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information/counter-terrorism-sanctions/palestinian-authority
And web transactions
https://ofac.treasury.gov/faqs/topic/1611
https://bsky.app/profile/gregdoucette.bsky.social/post/3lqbdionug22d
Which OFAC says "would not be prohibited".
https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information/counter-terrorism-sanctions/palestinian-authority
This is all about rendering guys with tats to El Salvador.
It all goes in the “we try, but we work in fucked-up places where shit happens 🤷” disclosure.
https://finance.ec.europa.eu/financial-crime/anti-money-laundering-and-countering-financing-terrorism-eu-level_en
Also, my 8 year old step daughter wants a pony and the wife a new car.
It was less fun the next go-round when the client was in his late 50s and the felony conviction upended his life
I'd like a window cell, top bunk, a pen and a shit load of paper please.
You are *not prepared* for the documentary requirements required to process transactions on behalf of other people, and if you don't do that you are doing crimes.
Well, I'm just going to call it a choice.
Thank you all so much for your time!
Residents of Gaza are not automatically designated terrorists, and GFM is not in the habit of allowing US redidents, the country they're based in, violate US law.
That was a pivot when multiple people pointed out, correctly, that there's a gauntlet of financial crimes being promoted
https://bsky.app/profile/gregdoucette.bsky.social/post/3lqbyq33nlk2p
That they don't have a pathologically overzealous DOJ is little insulation
I have seen people mistake this request for giving your bank info to randos online. People are just making stuff up at the expense of verified people seeking aid, and it's gross.
Particular crime would depend on the details. Could be money laundering (18 USC 1956), accomplice (18 USC 2(a)) to wire fraud (18 USC 1343), etc
Folks focused on aid to terror orgs (18 USC 2339b) miss many more options
https://bsky.app/profile/gregdoucette.bsky.social/post/3lqbyq33nlk2p
them (it is illegal to suggest that people to do something illegal, for example)
So their system tends to be extra trigger happy
I'd hire a specialty lawyer before trusting her to advise me on something complex, but I also trust that she'd tell me to get a pro.
#AgentProvocateurRisk
#IllicitTrade
#BlockChain
#InternationalTrade
#SupplyChain
#DarkWeb
#DeepWeb
#GITOC
#OFAC
#StrategicThreatAnalysisIntelligence
#ThreatIntelligencePolicy
#CryptoCurrencyPolicy
#INTERPOL\SVRU
#MoneyLaundering
#INTERPOL
#CCIARABulletin
https://ofac.treasury.gov/
(This is in addition to all the illegal stuff)
GFM does not send money to Gaza directly. So any GFM for "Mari in Gaza" is being collected by someone else, who is claiming to send it to Mari. Somehow.
Can you trust them? Or are they funding crimes?
She's looking for volunteers to be the money collector to hand it off to someone who claims to be able to send it to Gaza.
She has decided she want's to be the main character I guess and is going to post through it.
Thankfully, I blocked her long ago.
What is the difference between pledging a donation to someone on gofundme and collecting money for charity to foreign lands?
I have seen talk from the zionists that by donating we are doing this already.
So which of 2 unlawful ways to save lives are okay?
What is being recommended can be.
1: you have the means to get money to person A
2: other people, who want to, have no way to get money to Person A
3: You use gofundme to aggregate their money, so you can pass it through to Person A.
Also, and it’s my tin foil hat time I guess- almost all these countries have Hamas under sanctions. Why not use other countries where they are not under sanction? 🤔
Mr D: "Maybe avoid illegal money transfer activities?"
Red Triangle Brigade:
There's 5 comments on this, but I can't actually see them.
That usually means the commenters are on my Tankies and Terrorists list.
All ☭ and 🍉 as far as the eye can see.
In addition, *unless those bank transactions are domestic they will likely pass through the US banking system*. s/likely/surely if a credit or debit card is involved.
Most people haven't had reason to realize how far US reach is when a banking system is involved. Let's hope they don't find out.
just ask Daniel Hale, who couldn't bring up intent as a defense or mitigating factor for the drone program disclosures
I can't tell if I'm being Poe's Law'd right now
I remember that.
I have been way too online for probably way too long.
Yeah. I got nothing. JTDC
One post saying “helping people survive a genocide with your meager income is a crime” and:
You know what I am an expert on though? Crimes, and keeping people out of prison for them
Or from defending the first amendment in states that have "Draw Muhammad" competitions?
You're disingenuous and condescending. Fix your heart.
It's not my fault that happens to be you today
Absolute clown shit.
I see I was right to do so.
She's made a really, really foolish recommendation, and I hope she's doing OK -- she's talking to people in Gaza personally, and knows how dire things are, and the stress of trying to get them help has to be horrible beyond words.