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The News Hole

President of Har Sinai Congregation charged for laundering drug-dealer’s loan repayments

March 20, 2013
By

“Bull____.” That’s how 61-year-old Stewart Dennis Sachs “repeatedly described” federal regulatory requirements for money-lenders during depositions in a 1990s lawsuit he brought against Regal Savings Bank, where he’d previously served as president, according to court documents. The Maryland Court of Appeals, in reviewing the case, said that Sachs described Regal’s “environment as laissez-faire so long as money was being made,” and concluded that Sachs was “openly contemptuous” of the federal regulations.

Now the federal banking laws are biting Sachs back, hard. On March 18, the IRS Criminal Investigations Division filed a criminal complaint against Sachs in Maryland U.S. District Court, charging him with breaking an anti-money laundering statute in connection with cash repayments he received on a $151,000 loan his company – Owings Mills-based Worthington Alternative Capital – made to Robert T. Taylor, a 37-year-old from Aberdeen who has pleaded guilty in Pennsylvania federal court to supplying crack cocaine to a dealer in Harrisburg, Pa.

Sachs has been very successful in the lending business, judging from his three-acre waterfront estate on the Eastern Shore’s Tilghman Island, which is assessed at $1.5 million, according to real-estate records. He also holds a highly esteemed position in Baltimore’s Jewish community, serving since 2011 as president of the 170-year-old Har Sinai Congregation, the longest-running Reform congregation in the U.S. – a position he publicizes on Worthington Alternative Capital’s website (the picture above is from the “President’s Message” on the Har Sinai website). Last week, Sachs was quoted in the press about the recent agreement to make Har Sinai the future home of the Pumpkin Theatre, a longstanding children’s theater.

Messages left for Sachs and Har Sinai’s rabbi, Benjamin Sharff, were not immediately returned. The U.S. Attorney’s offices in Maryland and Pennsylvania also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Sachs is accused of “structuring,” the practice of evading IRS reporting requirements that kick in on cash transactions involving more than $10,000. When the amounts cross that threshold, banks are required to report them to federal authorities in “currency transaction reports,” or CTRs. By depositing or withdrawing less than $10,000 at a time, even though more cash is actually involved in the transactions, account holders cause banks not to report them, which is a federal crime. In addition, when a person “engaged in a trade or business who receives cash of more than $10,000 in the course of that trade or business,” the IRS website explains, then the person needs to report it, too, by submitting an IRS Form 8300. Not doing so is also a federal crime.

If convicted, Sachs faces a maximum five-year prison sentence and up to a $250,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint filed March 18 by IRS criminal investigator Jeffrey Hostelly, Sachs was asked about the transactions with Taylor in March 2012, when he was visited by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents, and the complaint indicates that he was cooperative and forthcoming, describing the “bricks” of cash Taylor brought to him and saying he understood that Taylor’s cash was derived from buying and selling cars.

Sachs explained that the cash had been deposited into his business account with Sun Trust Bank, and that “any CTRs filed on Taylor’s payments would be in the name of Sachs or one of his employees,” the complaint states. “Sachs added that it was not unusual in his everyday dealings to receive cash for payment.”

Though Sachs told the agents that he’d deposited the cash from Taylor into his bank account, and though the agents learned from a confidential informant that six of Taylor’s seven repayments were made in increments of more than $10,000 – one of them was more than $42,000 – the agents could find no evidence that Sachs had filed any IRS Form 8300s to report the transactions.

“In fact,” the complaint states, “comprehensive queries conducted under the numerous individuals, entities, and address used or associated with Stewart Sachs were negative for any IRS Form 8300s being filed” by Sachs or Worthington Alternative Capital. (Emphasis in original.)

The court docket in Sachs’ case, which has been assigned to U.S. magistrate judge Timothy Sullivan, indicates he has not yet had his first appearance in court, and that he does not yet have a lawyer representing him.

UPDATE: Here is a PDF of the specific complaint against Stewart Sachs: Stewart Sachs structuring complaint. This post originally reported the wrong city where Robert T. Taylor was supplying drugs, and has been corrected. City Paper regrets the error.

UPDATE 2: Stewart Sachs’ first name was misstated in the second-to-last paragraph. It has been corrected.

  • UpstandingCitizen

    This is a typical attempt by the media (if you can even call the City Paper media) to publicize and attempt to humiliate an upstanding member of the Jewish community. I happened to have read the complaint against Mr. Sachs, and this rag has left out MAJOR details as to Mr. Sachs’ alleged involvement in money-laundering. This is a joke. Choosing to print whatever grabs headlines is journalism at it’s WORST. Last time I checked this was still America and you are innocent until proven guilty. Way to spin a story City Paper. Maybe Van Smith will win a Pulitzer.

  • Truthseeker

    The author of this piece, Van Smith, has zero credibility as evidenced by this article where it states that the City Paper paid 350K in a defamation suit due to Van Smith. Wonder why the headline states President of Har Sinai Congregation instead of Owner of Worthington Alternative Capital. Anti-Semetic much?

    http://thedailyrecord.com/ontherecord/2010/09/24/defamation-costs/

  • VanSmithDrugUser

    “Bull____.” Sums up this story written by a self-admitted drug user.

    http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/blog/2011/03/city_paper_reporter_admits_buy.html

  • Evan Serpick

    FYI, I’m Evan Serpick editor of City Paper (and of this story) and an active member of Baltimore’s Jewish community. The idea that Van Smith is anti-Semitic (note correct spelling) is laughable. Any journalist or editor with tell you that Mr. Sachs’ current status as president of one of Baltimore’s oldest and most prominent places of worship is headline-worthy. Also, readers will probably not be surprised to know that “Truthseeker” and “VanSmithDrugUser” are one and the same, with the same Disqus account.

  • Evan Serpick

    What details? Nowhere in this story does it state that Mr. Sachs is guilty. It outlines the charges against him. I’m very curious what “MAJOR details” you think were left out.

  • http://www.facebook.com/william.bond.10 William Bond

    This writer has been urging the editors of CP to have drop down menu rules for ‘comments’ for some time, such as in use your own names, cowards.

    As a dude who knows all about the litigation and how it works, it means zero that someone with no claim won a sum against CP in defam litigation. Have also seen Van Smith in countless coffee shops and other places — never seen his crack pipe, blunts burning, etc…, but that said, if he admitted what the blog said, he must be the only honest person in the world. That said, it only enhances his credibility, not lessens it.

    As for the anti-Semite thing. Dude, learn to spell. That said, Van Smith is ‘honorable.’ I hate ad hominem, and I hate the two commenters, who must be the same person. The dude written in the story about is fucking around with money, fucking around with the government, been caught on tape doing same, and he is a dumb mother fucker.

    But, good news, he’ll get a top lawyer, pay off the judge, and go away… cuz’ that how the B-more goes…

    And, for the record, I can’t be ant-semetic cuz’ I was married to a Jewess for 14 years and love me some hot jewish babeness.

    I say, all hot jewish babes out there who love CP, come on, write in and support B-more’s hardest working guy in the news biz – Mr. Van Smith!

  • anonomous

    that is bullshit stewart has no need to launder money this is the George Dangerfield of 2013

  • CPisLEGITLOL

    William, Dude, you freaking KILLED YOUR FATHER. HELLO????? You really think you have any credibility?

    http://citypaper.com/news/zombie-litigator-1.1409013

    BTW, I’ve known Evan Serpick Mr. Big Time CP Editor (Great gig Serp we’re all very impressed) for years and not only is he a world class douche, he is a liar and a fraud.

    THE END!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/william.bond.10 William Bond

    Your logic, after stating the nonsensical ‘male cow feces and relevance to this story,’ is only people who need money steal? Is that really the best you can do?

    Add to that, Feds have an over 95% conviction rate, the simple facts reported, which if you knew the law would blow that rate to 100% in this case, then . . . well, what the fuck were you trying to say, or write, or think, or . . .

    And your connection of this story to Dangerfield is what?

  • Evan Serpick

    “World class douche” is up for debate, I guess, but I’d appreciate some documentation for “liar and a fraud.” And say what you will about William, at least he uses his real name, even though it means enduring anonymous attacks like yours. Do you stand behind your statements enough to leave a real name?

  • http://www.facebook.com/william.bond.10 William Bond

    I am confused. Your accusation is that because I killed my father at age 17 makes me ‘bad.’ I would say spending all my money supporting my ex wife and her kids, then going after the corrupt establishment in Balto makes me way more of a man than you will ever be . . . By the way, that also gains a lot of credibility with folks who matter like the Maryland US Attorney, who twice have been on my side.

    And what part of cowardly, weak, ad hominem do you not get. No way to debate… And, closing with ‘The End’ is feminine.

    You exemplify the worst of this city and people in general.

    As far as Evan, if you were to break down your insult literally, sounds like he would be very popular with the ladies. He also has made City Paper way better, vying for national recog in short time, running a tight ship, putting out high quality, and he and his writers are actually willing to step into the field and debate fools like you — where else in USA do you see that? The other insults are close to a law suit . . .

  • UpstandingCitizen

    I’ve seen the comment threads that followed my initial post and I’m not going to get in a pissing match with a drug addict and a murderer who work for a failing publication that is so desperate for a headline, that they actually invent one. Shame on all of you. You state (in your headline) that Mr. Sachs is CHARGED for laundering drug-dealer’s loan repayments. That is absolutely FALSE. He was charged for allegedly violating 31 USC Section 5331, which is failure to report cash payments over $10,000.00. That is the alleged charge. Nothing more, nothing less. If you are going to be an actual reporter you need to be OBJECTIVE and not SUBJECTIVE. You cannot try a case in the media. I know the CP has been down this road before, and you have a history of printing inaccurate stories. Seems to me you have another libel/slander lawsuit on your hands. Maybe you should retract or at least revise your salacious headline.

  • Evan Serpick

    The headline is an accurate description of the charges against Mr. Sachs, as described in the complaint. If anyone doubts that, they’re welcome to look at the complaint itself, which has been attached at the bottom of the post as an “update.”

    As for the comment threads: “UpstandingCitizen,” “Truthseeker,” and “VanSmithDrugUser” are all the same user – you – with the same IP address and the same email address. I’ll leave it to readers to decide who is “desperate” here.

  • UpstandingCitizen

    The headline is completely inaccurate. Thanks for posting the link Evan. Show your readers exactly where the words money laundering appear in the Complaint (go ahead, point it out). If Mr. Taylor told Mr. Sachs that he had money to invest because he bought and sold used cars, what indication would Mr. Sachs have that he was an alleged drug dealer? I doubt drug dealers advertise their occupation. You got it wrong, and now you are feebly attempting to validate your outrageous story. Of course he deals with cash, he’s a money lender you Moron!!!

  • Evan Serpick

    After this, I’m going to stop doing research for you… See the attached IRS manual, which details “Money Laundering and Currency Crimes,” including section 9.5.5.3.2, which includes “failing to file a Form 8300 as required by 31 USC §5331″ – exactly what Mr. Sachs is charged with.

    http://www.irs.gov/irm/part9/irm_09-005-005.html

  • Van Smith

    Form 8300 violations, which is what Mr. Sachs is accused of, are money-laundering crimes. See IRS Manual,”Money Laundering and Currency Crimes,” http://www.irs.gov/irm/part9/irm_09-005-005.html.

  • http://www.facebook.com/william.bond.10 William Bond

    And, I’ll add that this guy must be a scumbag member of the bar, and prob one of my many adversaries. Interesting, while worrying about semantics with Sachs, he calls me a murderer, even though dude knows that is a legal term not applicable to me. Talk about a law suit. Maybe I’ll file a ‘john doe’ defam case against him just to get his name and the law firm he is schilling for . . .

  • http://www.facebook.com/william.bond.10 William Bond

    Dear Mr. Lawyer, after you enter your appearance on behalf of the future said convict, you may want to give him a law school 101 lesson on what get’s most folks convicted — hubris. The definition of: meeting with a treasury/doj official in your office w/o counsel and responding to questions — any question.

  • UpstandingCitizen

    Listen Mr. Murderer, why would anyone who had a clean conscience not cooperate with our government? You are proving my point for me. Why would Mr. Sachs NOT cooperate and talk with a treasury/doj official? Why would an innocent man need an attorney? Mr. Sachs is a very smart and successful businessman who has nothing to hide. Unlike you, he is not a convicted felon.

    I don’t care about your technicality BS, the last time I checked, bashing in your father’s skull, then stuffing the dead body in the trunk of a car, and abandoning it is MURDER. I don’t care if you were 17 or not. You should either be in jail or dead. Either way, your ex-wife, her kids, all the creditors that you have burned, and the rest of the world would have been a much better place without you in it.

    Try to give back to society instead of feeling entitled, gaming the system, and leeching off it. Stop being such a crybaby b/c someone stole your how to get away with murder book, and be thankful that you are allowed to breath the same air as the rest of society. Man up and move on. Be grateful you are a free man. You are most definitely MENTALLY ILL. Take your meds PLEASE!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/william.bond.10 William Bond

    Above, you said, you ‘won’t get in a pissing match,’ which is exactly where you now find yourself. Murder is a legal term. I have zero criminal record, and have been convicted of nothing, ever. You may want to retract that. You will get sued if you do not. Can’t wait, myself.

    Further, I had a carry permit in Maryland for 10 years, and have two letters from the most prominent shrinks Maryland has to offer testifying I am as mentally well as the baby Jesus. Now, you, would any shrink reading your ad hominem shit, give you a letter — no fucking way. I’ll put myself next to you and your kind any single day. And for suing to get my property back, that’s America baby. You want me to apologize for that? Creditors I burned, you gotta’ be joking — I had over a million dollars in legal fees alone stolen by your lawyer kind.

    As for my ex-wife, her family was a bunch of the worst the ‘jewish community’ had to offer, and the USAO MD went after them several times, sometimes with success and sometimes without. As for the ex and her bambini, well, I put the youngest girl in Jemicy school over the objections of her loving father and grand father, an act if not taken, would have caused her years of problems. Made sure the boy had an active father in his life when his own father abandoned him. On and on. I’ll put my good deeds next to yours any day, assuming you’ve ever done one thing for another human being that didn’t involve a fundraising event where your name was in lights.

    You other takes are laughable, and just reinforce my point — I am a free man because I know how to reason. Your client will soon be a convict. Then, you will have to take the phony hosannas away from his name and replace them with ‘convicted felon.’

    As for the giving back, I am the only person DOJ has ever joined with to unseal the record of their own criminal case, aka the Bromwell case. Talk about being a Public Citizen fighting for justice. Methinks you might even being one of the corrupt lawyers whom a federal judge protected in that case who is now speakin…

    Hate your kind. Hope we meet. Take your ‘death’ comment as a threat.

  • http://www.facebook.com/unceen.friend Unceen Friend

    van, you are a leech on society. Sachs deposited the money and filed CTR’s. he did not file 8300′s, but if you did your research I would bet the most in his industry have never filed 8300′s because they have never heard of them. no, you would not do research because it would not support your “big” story. if the guy was trying to hide the money from the government, he would not have deposited the money in a bank or filed CTR’s, but you gloss over that fact because it does not support your inflamatory headline. I hope someone treats you the same way one day and when your friends all back away from you and you feel alone because someone has done something as dumb as you have done by writing this trash , hopefully someone will have pity on you as you stand on the bridge wondering if you should jump because you find yourself all alone due to some idiot trying to make it to the big time. btw, glad you corrected the city in which the “drug dealer” was active as that was an important fact, you might have corrected sach’s name that you incorrectly printed in the second to last paragraph, but that would be good reporting, which you are not interested in.

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  • MimiR

    I have known Mr. Sachs for longer than 24 years, I have also had business dealings with him, to me he was always above board and helpful, if this is such a big deal why wasn’t it on the TV news or in the Sun paper??? And knowing Mr Sachs as I do I doubt he had to “launder” money , and as for the cretin who wrote this STOP being Judge & jury ok…

  • http://www.facebook.com/william.bond.10 William Bond

    Dear Ms. MimiR,

    Glad to see you are upholding the quality of the comments re: this news article. Re: why the TV News and The Sun haven’t chimed in yet, maybe the case is too new, maybe because it was brought with a criminal complaint rather than indictment, it lacks a certain drama, at this stage, and maybe because those bodies leave the federal courts mostly to Mr. Smith to cover. But, are you asking for more news coverage? And do you think that is what Mr. Sachs wishes?

    As far as your slur against the reporter, reporting facts, if you have information to help Mr. Sachs or wish to also accuse the prosecutor of being a ‘cretin’ for daring to prosecute Mr. Sachs, here is his name, email address, and telephone number. Why don’t you send him a nasty email as above and then cut and paste it here so we can see if you really got the chutzpah or not:

    AUSA Richard Kay, USAO MD, 36 S. Charles Street, 4th Floor, 21201; 410-209-4800;
    richard.kay@usdoj.gov

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