Sonya Weiss | Money Laundering and Attracting the Attention of the FBI

One of the things I have a love/hate relationship with when it comes to writing
is the research I do. Some of it can be fascinating and some of it’s boring.

I learned early in my writing career when I did a lot more nonfiction writing
that I needed to contact experts in whatever field I was writing the article in.
I had to have their opinion to use as quotes and then fact checkers would make
sure the information was accurate.

Finding experts was sheer torture. I hated cold calling people I didn’t know to
ask them to give an opinion for what I was working on. I always felt
tongue-tied. I had to contact doctors and lawyers. I spoke to private
investigators and firefighters and the list goes on.

For the most part, everyone I spoke to was kind and eager to be helpful. The
more I had to reach out to experts, the easier it became.

With fiction, I’ll do the same thing I did with the nonfiction writing. When I have a question, I’ll call on an expert if I can’t figure out what I need to know. With STEALING THE BACHELOR, the heroine’s chocolate shop is raided. I did a lot of research. Talked to the FDA, to attorneys and researched cases where individuals duped the public by promising a product did something when it actually didn’t.

In the past, I needed to find information about money laundering. The story I
was working on at the time had a villain who was passing illegally obtained
money through local businesses. This villain had to be good enough to fool the
authorities. I needed to know how people who laundered money got caught so I’d
know how the character could avoid it.

I researched so many different avenues but what I needed to know kept eluding
me. So I figured out the person I needed to speak with had to be someone at the
FBI. I picked up the phone and was connected to a very helpful, soft-spoken
agent. He asked me a few questions and I blithely answered.

Later, I couldn’t for the life of me remember if I’d said I was asking because
I’m a writer and needed the information for the story. I remember asking him how
I could fool the FBI.

After I was finished asking the questions, I thanked him for his time and went
about my day.

It wasn’t long after that my doorbell rang. I answered and a woman dressed in a
dark suit introduced herself as an FBI agent and showed her identification. I
nearly had a heart attack. I know I appeared fidgety and nervous because I
thought she thought I was involved in money laundering.

Then she explained she was in the neighborhood investigating a neighbor who’d
applied for a high security job and she was questioning neighbors about the guy.
I started snickering and when she gave me a questioning look, I told her I’d
contacted the FBI about money laundering and thought she was there to check up
on me.

We both had a good laugh. But after that, I always make sure I clarify that the
information I seek is for fictional use only.