The Internal Revenue Service is accusing a Kaneohe sports and luxury car dealer with helping pimps and prostitutes launder money by taking large, unreported cash payments for car sales.

The U.S. attorney filed a criminal complaint in federal court yesterday charging William Bartenstein with failing to file a currency transaction report with the IRS for accepting more than $10,000 in a single cash transaction as required by law for the sale of a car.

Bartenstein owns and operates the Corvette Center, Ltd. which specializes in selling Chevrolet Corvettes and other sports and luxury cars.

The IRS said it began investigating Bartenstein in 2003 after an informant reported that Bartenstein was willing to launder money or structure large cash transactions to evade reporting requirements. The informant is a former car salesman and manager who previously helped the IRS bring criminal cases against other individuals and five dealerships.