A federal jury has convicted attorney Kenneth Wendell Ravenell, 61, of conspiracy to commit money laundering conspiracy charge.
The trial evidence proved that Ravenell received drug proceeds from clients and associates who engaged in drug trafficking. Evidence was presented that Ravenell also used bank accounts of the law firm where he practiced to launder more than a million dollars and used the law firm’s bank accounts to receive drug payments and make payments to attorneys retained to represent other members of the conspiracy and make various investments on behalf of a drug trafficker client concealing and misrepresenting the source of the funds and promoting the client’s unlawful activity. According to trial evidence, Ravenell also received substantial cash payments derived from drug sales as compensation for laundering money.
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The jury acquitted Ravenell of racketeering conspiracy and narcotics conspiracy charges. The jury also acquitted Ravenell and attorney Joshua Reinhardt Treem, 73, on federal charges of a conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, falsification of documents, and obstructing an official proceeding. The jury acquitted Sean Francis Gordon, age 45, of Crownsville, Maryland, a private investigator who worked for both Ravenell and Treem of those same charges.
Ravenell faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for the money laundering conspiracy. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 14, 2022.
