CBP officers at two Texas airports seized nearly $50,000 from international travelers over the course of just a few weeks — one case at San Antonio International Airport involving a father and daughter who tried to travel as strangers, and one at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport involving a traveler headed to Argentina with currency stashed across several envelopes. Together they illustrate two of the most common — and most avoidable — currency seizure scenarios.
Case One: San Antonio — Father and Daughter Traveling as Strangers
On November 3, CBP officers working at San Antonio International Airport discovered a pair of travelers carrying over $16,000 in unreported currency. The travelers, who are citizens of Mexico and traveling together, arrived separately to CBP for processing and each reported they were traveling alone. Both claimed to be traveling alone and reported carrying less than $10,000. However, when questioned further, the travelers — a father, 53, and his daughter, 27 — admitted that they were in fact traveling together. The amount of currency discovered among their belongings added up to $16,000. The currency was seized for failure to properly report currency in an aggregate amount exceeding $10,000.
This case has the hallmarks of a deliberate structuring attempt under 31 U.S.C. § 5324. The father and daughter presented themselves to CBP separately, each claiming to be traveling alone, each declaring less than $10,000 — apparently hoping that two sub-threshold declarations from two apparently unrelated individuals would avoid the reporting requirement. When questioned further, they admitted they were traveling together, and the combined amount across both of them was $16,000.
This is precisely the scenario we discuss in our article on the FinCEN 105 reporting requirement and the per-person misconception. The reporting threshold is not per person — it applies to the total amount being transported by a traveling group. A father and daughter traveling together with a combined $16,000 are required to report the full $16,000 regardless of how the money is physically distributed between them. Presenting themselves separately to CBP processing does not change the legal analysis — it just adds evidence of intent to evade.
The CBP release notes that in the last fiscal year ending October 31, CBP seized more than $81,496,161 in undeclared or illicit currency nationwide. That figure — $81.5 million in a single fiscal year — reflects the scale of outbound and inbound currency enforcement across U.S. ports and puts individual seizures like this one in context. Every one of those cases began with a decision that a form was not worth filing.
Case Two: Dallas-Fort Worth — $33,400 in Envelopes Stashed Among Belongings
Three days later at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, CBP officers seized currency from a traveler who was departing the United States headed to Argentina. The passenger reported $9,000 in his possession; however, when CBP officers completed the currency verification, more than $33,400 was discovered. The cash was found in several envelopes stashed among his belongings. CBP seized the currency.
The DFW case involves a traveler who declared $9,000 — just under the threshold — while actually carrying more than $33,400. Officers found the money in several envelopes distributed throughout his belongings. The word “stashed” in CBP’s own release is significant: it describes currency that was deliberately placed rather than openly carried, which is the factual foundation for a bulk cash smuggling allegation under 31 U.S.C. § 5332 on top of the straightforward failure to report under § 5316.
The distinction matters for penalty exposure. A failure to report carries a civil penalty calibrated to the amount not reported. A bulk cash smuggling finding under § 5332 can result in a civil penalty of up to 50% of the total seized amount — on $33,400, that is up to $16,700 in penalty exposure on top of the forfeiture of the currency itself. Whether CBP pursues the smuggling allegation will depend on how the investigation develops, but the distributing of currency across several envelopes throughout a bag — rather than carrying it openly — gives CBP the factual record to make that argument if they choose to.
The declaration of $9,000 — just under the $10,000 threshold — is also consistent with a deliberate attempt to stay below the reporting requirement rather than an honest estimate of what was being carried. A traveler who genuinely miscounted $33,400 as $9,000 would need to explain a miscounting error of more than $24,000. CBP will not treat that as a plausible innocent mistake, and the petition for remission or mitigation will need to address it directly.
What Both Cases Have in Common
Different airports, different amounts, different concealment methods — but the same underlying dynamic in both cases. Each traveler made a calculation that staying under or appearing to be under the $10,000 threshold was worth the risk of not filing a FinCEN 105. In both cases, CBP’s verification process found the full amount and the entire sum was seized — not just the portion above the threshold. Under 31 U.S.C. § 5317, when a reporting violation occurs, the entire amount of currency involved is subject to forfeiture, not just the excess.
If you have had cash seized at San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth, or any other Texas airport or border crossing, contact us for a free consultation. Read our customs money seizure legal guide or watch the video series. Read our guide on why you must not contact CBP without an attorney after a seizure. See our currency seizure case outcomes. Call us at (734) 855-4999, send a text message, or reach us on WhatsApp. You can also contact us online.