Forfeiture of $10.4 Million Upheld in Money Laundering Case

A wholesaler convicted of money laundering failed to convince a federal appeals court that a $10.4 million forfeiture judgment against him is excessive and procedurally flawed.

The forfeiture judgment against Nidal Ahmed Waked Hatum for the total amount of money he laundered was neither an unconstitutionally excessive fine under the Eighth Amendment nor improperly calculated, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit said Wednesday in an unpublished per curiam opinion, affirming a district court judgment.

“Waked is exactly the type of person for whom the Supreme Court stated the forfeiture statute was principally designed—a money launderer,” the ...