A Portland man pleaded guilty Tuesday to laundering money for local gang members through his Vancouver automobile dealerships.
Eddie L. Bynum, aka “Fast Eddie,” 54, also admitted in U.S. District Court that he accepted $34,000 cash from an IRS undercover agent posing as a drug dealer in exchange for a 2005 Maserati. The agent told Bynum the money came from dealing drugs. Bynum said he went through with the transaction to hide the source of the dirty money.
He later accepted $50,000 cash from the undercover agent after agreeing to launder the money back to the agent. He wrote $5,000 monthly checks from one of his businesses to make it look like legitimate income.
The government alleged the local businesses used to launder money included Fountaine Motors, 8600 N.E. St. Johns Road in Northeast Hazel Dell, and Manor Highway Auto, 11418 N.E. 72nd Ave. in the Sunnyside area.
Bynum’s sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 18.
