Hidden in Plain Sight: The Role of Small-Dollar Transactions in Major Cases

Why “insignificant” transactions are sometimes the most revealing—and most overlooked.

When it comes to uncovering major criminal operations, the red flags aren’t always flashy. In fact, the most telling evidence is often hidden in plain sight—small-dollar transactions, layered payments, and a web of seemingly ordinary activity that escapes traditional thresholds for financial scrutiny.

For this installment of "The Evidence Ledger," we sat down with David Tyree, former federal agent and currently a Senior Advisor at Valid8, to unpack how criminals structure transactions to avoid detection, why law enforcement often overlooks these patterns, and how investigative tools like Valid8 can help bring clarity and speed to otherwise overwhelming forensic work.

Q: Why are small-dollar transactions such a key part of money laundering schemes?

David Tyree: It all goes back to how financial institutions monitor activity. Under the Bank Secrecy Act, banks are required to file a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) for any cash deposit or withdrawal over $10,000. Criminals know this. So what do they do? They keep their deposits under that threshold—$9,999, $6,000, even $2,500—and spread them across multiple institutions.

These low-dollar amounts fly under the radar and appear innocuous. But they add up fast, especially in cash-heavy crimes like drug trafficking or fraud. Criminals co-mingle dirty money with clean income from legitimate businesses to mask the true source. That’s how you get someone paying off four properties in three years using checks from concrete jobs mixed with proceeds from narcotics.

Q: If these transactions are so important, why are they often overlooked in investigations?

Tyree: It's not that they're invisible. It's that they're exhausting. Law enforcement is constantly being told to "follow the money," but doing that takes time, energy, and resources that are often in short supply. Meanwhile, officers are juggling overdoses, drug complaints, human trafficking cases, and more. Digging through hundreds of pages of bank records just isn’t always feasible.

Plus, money laundering is confusing by design. Criminals don’t want you to see the pattern. The movement is obfuscated, layered, and deliberately messy. If you don’t have the right tools to surface those patterns, you’re stuck staring at a pile of transactions and hoping something jumps out. That’s not a strategy.

“Elder financial abuse is a silent epidemic—costing victims billions each year, yet often hidden behind small, frequent withdrawals and the illusion of trust... Tools like Valid8 change that—surfacing hidden patterns, isolating bad actors, and providing the clean forensic trail needed to hold them accountable.”

David Tyree

Retired DEA Agent and Financial Crimes Expert

Q: Can you share a real case that started with a small-dollar red flag?

Tyree: Absolutely. I had a case where law enforcement seized just $1,200 in a drug bust. Honestly, it didn’t seem like much at first glance. But when we dug deeper, we uncovered over a million dollars in financial movement. That turned into a 72-month sentence and the forfeiture of over $600,000 from his accounts plus four pieces of paid-off real estate. It turned into nearly a $2,000,000 case all from a $1,200 seizure.

That case became a national example. I even brought the original officer to teach at the DEA Academy in Quantico. It proved that no transaction is too small to matter. But without full-population analysis, we would have missed the bigger picture.

Q: What’s the problem with sampling or spot checking financial data in these cases?

Tyree: You can’t be "half" pregnant. If you only look at a slice of the financial activity, you risk missing the very thing that ties the whole case together. Bad actors count on you doing spot checks. They’re moving money in a way that hides patterns across time and institutions. Only full-population analysis can truly reveal how the money flows.

Q: How does Valid8 help law enforcement investigate these patterns more effectively?

Tyree: The magic of Valid8 is that it makes those overwhelming piles of bank records manageable. You can upload years of financial statements and get a visual story of the money movement within 24 hours. And everything ties back to the original document, which is critical in court.

This tool puts power back in the hands of the investigator. You're not waiting for an analyst or forensic accountant to make sense of things. You can act immediately, follow the funds, and make the case. It empowers law enforcement to do high-quality financial work without outsourcing it.

Q: What’s your message to law enforcement who feel overwhelmed by financial evidence?

Tyree: You’re not alone, and you're not underqualified. I’ve been there. I’ve stared at bank records and thought, "I have no idea what I’m looking at."

What Valid8 does is level the playing field. It makes it possible to follow the money even when you’re juggling a dozen other priorities. It also lets you own the case. You obtained the records. You reviewed the patterns. You made the call. And that ownership matters when you're testifying in court.

Want to go deeper?

‍Whether you're tracing peer-to-peer payments, building a timeline of transactions, or preparing evidence for prosecution, Valid8 gives you the clarity and control to move faster and uncover more. Contact us to learn how Valid8 can support your investigations.

David Tyree is a 25-year DEA veteran and expert in financial crime, asset forfeiture, and anti-money laundering. He has led major investigations resulting in over $80 million in seized assets linked to drug trafficking, human trafficking, and organized crime. As Senior Advisor at Valid8 Financial, he helps law enforcement understand how to use technology to turn complex financial data—from bank records to crypto—into courtroom-ready evidence. David is ACAMS-certified and has served in key investigative roles across the U.S. and internationally.