Here's some info about Western Union that you guys might find interesting. It's from a never-before-published partial transcript from an interview I had in 2008 with a guy busted in Operation Raw Deal...
"When they sat me down in the meeting for the first time they laid out in front of me all the evidence they had against me. They had pictures, they had videos, they had you know, you had gone here this time and you had gone here that time, you were seen with this person, you were seen with that person, you wired hundreds of thousands of dollars overseas to China and you have been importing raw powder from China. I mean they present this information right in front of you and then say, “now what do you want to do?”
Q: They know the details better than you!
A: I mean, they were telling me “ok you sent this much money” and I said “there’s no way I sent that much money to China.” And they pulled out a Western Union report that was turned over to them from Western Union. They where like - I can’t remember exactly off the top of my head right now, but it was like $457,800 and something and 27 cents. And I was like “oh ok.” I mean Western Union actually flagged my name as a possible person involved in illegal activities and turned it over to the DEA.
Q: Was it initiated by Western Union?
A: According to them it started with Western Union and that’s where they got a list of names of people who are sending a lot of money overseas. I guess its part of Homeland Security Act where they are watching large money transfers. But then what they started noticing is that there was a common trend like – Wong Duck Fo in China was not only receiving $5,000 every two weeks from me, but he was also receiving $5,000 from xxxx xxxx, he was receiving $5,000 from John Doe and Jane Doe and this person and that person. So they are thinking “why is this guy getting $200,000 to 300,000 dollars a week about of all these different people across the United States?”
Q: They probably can easily rule it out as terrorism-related, so they figure it is related to controlled substances, maybe steroids?
A: Right, so they start reverse engineering the investigation and they find out a common thread behind the people who are sending money out. They get “xxxx xxxx” you get a bunch of information check, he is a big guy. And you get “xxxx xxxx” you check it out he is really a big guy. And you find out wow these guys are all bodybuilders. Then they think this might possibly have something to do with anabolic steroids. And so they turn it over to the FDA and the FDA starts doing their thing and they start reverse engineering downward getting more to the state and local level. And then they end up finding people, ‘oh yeah, I heard rumors about this guy and that guy being involved in this and that.” And basically, they just get one step closer, one step closer and then they’ve got you. It’s not really rocket science. I tell you what, they have all the resources in the world at their disposal and your name pops up for one reason or another and you’re involved in illegal stuff, they will stack a bunch of information against you. And when they come to you, their case is already gone and in front of a grand jury and they have enough information and they go to trial and convict.
