Once money changes hands to purchase anything legitimate, the money is effectively “laundered.” That means if someone were to say how did you come by that money, the criminal simply says, “I sold the real estate and, after paying the outstanding mortgage, was left with proceeds of $XXX.” The only way for the illegal funds to be identified is for the receiving agent - typically a Title Company - to question why someone would pay for a house in cash. Of course, a bank might convert currency to cash, but any cash received in excess of $10 thousand must be reported by the bank on a Currrency Transaction Report (CTR) with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network or FinCEN. More typical would be to engage in a heavy cash business, such as fast food. Many people pay in cash at McDonald’s and other restaurants. The cash is then deposited at a bank. If one owned 30 stores, they would simply look like a busy store if they added $1,000 to $1,500 to each of the twice-daily receipts. They would