(a)

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class B felony8 to 30 yearsup to $25,000
class E felony1 to 6 yearsup to $3,000
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
criminal case

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 39-14-903

  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • conduct: means to initiate, conclude, participate, negotiate, transport, conceal, or to aid or abet in such acts. See Tennessee Code 39-14-902
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Financial transaction: means a purchase, sale, loan, pledge, contract, gift, payment, and also includes a withdrawal, transmission of funds, transfer between accounts or deposit, of monetary or negotiable instruments, funds or an exchange of any other property, including, but not limited to, currency, precious metals, stones or jewelry, tickets, stamps or credit in a financial institution. See Tennessee Code 39-14-902
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Law enforcement officer: includes a sheriff, sheriff's deputy, and, only for purposes of the enhancement of a crime, a deputy jailer. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Obtain: includes , but is not limited to, the taking, carrying away or the sale, conveyance or transfer of title to or interest in or possession of property, and includes, but is not limited to, conduct known as larceny, larceny by trick, larceny by conversion, embezzlement, extortion or obtaining property by false pretenses. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Person: includes the singular and the plural and means and includes any individual, firm, partnership, copartnership, association, corporation, governmental subdivision or agency, or other organization or other legal entity, or any agent or servant thereof. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
  • Proceeds: includes gross profits from the commission of any specified unlawful activity, including property, real, personal or intangible of any kind, acquired or derived, directly or indirectly, from, produced through, realized through or caused by an act or omission. See Tennessee Code 39-14-902
  • Property: means anything of value, and includes any interest in property, including any benefit, privilege, claim or right with respect to anything of value, whether real or personal, tangible or intangible. See Tennessee Code 39-14-902
  • Specified unlawful activity: means any act, including any preparatory or completed offense, committed for financial gain that is punishable as a felony under the laws of this state, or if the act occurred outside this state, would be punishable by confinement for more than one (1) year under the laws of the state in which it occurred. See Tennessee Code 39-14-902
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(1) It is an offense to knowingly use, conspire to use or attempt to use proceeds derived directly or indirectly from a specified unlawful activity to conduct or attempt to conduct a financial transaction or make other disposition with the intent to conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, ownership or control of the criminally derived proceeds.
(2) A violation of this subsection (a) is a Class B felony.
(b)

(1) It is an offense to knowingly use proceeds derived directly or indirectly from a specified unlawful activity with the intent to promote, in whole or in part, the carrying on of a specified unlawful activity.
(2) A violation of this subsection (b) is a Class B felony.
(c)

(1) It is an offense to knowingly conduct, conspire to conduct, or attempt to conduct a financial transaction or make other disposition involving property or proceeds represented by a law enforcement officer, or by another at the direction of a law enforcement officer, to be the property or proceeds derived from a specified unlawful activity with the intent to conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, ownership or control of the criminally derived proceeds or with the intent to promote the carrying on of a specified unlawful activity.
(2) This section shall not apply to any transaction conducted, or attempted, by a person, corporation or financial institution, in the ordinary course of business, which is deemed by the person, corporation or financial institution to be a suspicious transaction or transactions, whether reportable or not under any state or federal currency transaction reporting or recording requirements, where:

(A) The person or corporation reports the suspicious transaction, or a similar transaction conducted previously, to any local, state or federal law enforcement official and such report would not violate any attorney-client privilege;
(B) In the case of a financial institution, the financial institution reported the transaction, or a related transaction conducted previously, to the institution’s primary regulator or to another regulator or law enforcement official pursuant to the directions of the institution’s primary regulator; but only with regard to the person, corporation or financial institution making the report; or
(C) In the case of any other corporation or business entity which reported the transaction or a related transaction conducted previously, to the corporation’s or business entity’s primary federal or state regulator, any other federal or state regulator or law enforcement official or agency. Failure to so report shall not create an inference that the transaction was a “financial transaction” under this part.
(3) A violation of this subsection (c) is a Class B felony.
(d)

(1) It is an offense for a business or other enterprise to knowingly use property, assets, funds, or accounts with intent to obtain, purchase, display, sell, conceal, comingle, or transport criminal proceeds. It is an offense for a business or other enterprise to knowingly use property, assets, funds, or accounts with intent to commit or facilitate any violation of title 71, chapter 5, part 25.
(2) A violation of subdivision (d)(1) is Class E felony punishable only by a fine of five thousand dollars ($5,000) and the forfeiture of assets as herein provided.
(e)

(1) It is an offense for a business or other enterprise to knowingly use on five (5) or more separate occasions property, assets, funds, or accounts with intent to obtain, purchase, display, sell, conceal, comingle, or transport criminal proceeds. It is an offense for an individual or business to knowingly use on five (5) or more separate occasions property, assets, funds, or accounts with intent to commit or facilitate any violation of title 71, chapter 5, part 25.
(2) A violation of subdivision (e)(1) is a Class B felony.
(f) All records of a business or enterprise that is in violation of subsection (d) or (e) wherever located shall be obtainable by search warrant or judicial subpoena. The remedies made available under chapter 12, part 2 of this title are hereby made remedies for violations of this section.
(g) All assets and proceeds used in violation of or to facilitate a violation of subsection (d) or (e) shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture. Forfeiture proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with chapter 11, part 7 of this title. Any court having criminal jurisdiction to conduct a preliminary hearing or trial of the criminal offense is empowered to order forfeiture as herein provided.
(h) As used in subsections (d) and (e):

(1) “Criminal proceeds” means items made illegal to possess or sell under chapters 14 or 17 of this title or anything of value obtained from a violation of title 71, chapter 5, part 25; and
(2) “Enterprise” means two (2) or more individuals acting in accord, agreement or in conspiracy to violate any criminal statute.
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