$15,000 bundled in rubber bands with notes

Detroit CBP Money Seizure Roundup for September

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

CBP in Detroit has continued to log large money seizures for smuggling, structuring, and failing to report (on form FinCen 105)  cash through the month of September, building on the money seizures they made through summer (which I previously blogged about here).

CBP has been sharing photographs of these money seizures on the X account for the Director of Field Operations for Detroit. CBP seizes money from anyone entering or leaving the country at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, the Ambassador Bridge, and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel who breaks the law that requires the money be reported.

The first post is from September 14, where a “pair of travelers” had $16,000 seized. I assume they were traveling together and were related, otherwise it seems unlikely both of their cash was seized (oh, the structuring problems…)

 

Next, $15,000 was seized on September 16 for “intentionally misreport” of the money. The intentionality of the misreported does not matter for legal purposes. A report has to be accurate, whether you intended to do it or not.

On September 24, CBP in Detroit seized $11,000 in money from a returning U.S. citizen at the Ambassador Bridge. This likely means that the person left the country with more than $10,000, too, but probably didn’t report it. Technically, that would be 2 violations of 31 USC 5316 (once upon exit, then again upon re-entry), but the person was only caught once.

On September 25, Detroit CBP seized money that CBP seems to imply was smuggled because it was concealed in papers and book binding (not depicted, unfortunately):

In another “pair” seizure, on September 27, CBP seized $30,000 in money:

Finally, CBP seized $17,000 from an Israeli citizen who was arriving in the United States at the Ambassador Bridge:

Has Detroit Metro Airport CBP seized your money?

If Detroit CBP seized your money, you need a lawyer. Read our trusted customs money seizure legal guide (or watch the videos) and can contact us for a free money seizure consultation by clicking the contact buttons on this page.
Clear bags filled with money seized by Texas CBP

Texas CBP seized $79K in hidden cash currency at Hidalgo Bridge

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

A failure to understanding customs regulations can result in the failure to declare cash when traveling into or out of the United States. The cash reporting laws include requirements to report more than $10,000,  and prohibitions against smuggling (hiding) the cash and structuring cash (dividing it with others so that no one has more than $10,000). In the story below, we look at a cash seizure by customs, highlighting the importance of compliance and the potential consequences of violations.

The story is quoted in full below, providing detailed insights into the events that transpired and the legal framework surrounding cash seizures by customs.

HIDALGO, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Hidalgo International Bridge this week seized more than $79,000 in unreported currency hidden within a vehicle during an outbound examination.

“Our frontline CBP officers utilized their training and experience along with technology in the outbound environment and prevented a significant amount of unreported currency from going south,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry. “These types of bulk cash seizures, often proceeds from illegal activity, deny transnational criminal organizations the ability to profit from their illicit enterprises and exemplify CBP’s ongoing commitment to our priority border security mission.”

The seizure occurred on Monday, Sept. 23 at the Hidalgo International Bridge when a CBP officer referred a southbound 2008 Honda driven by a 58-year-old male Mexican citizen for a secondary examination. Following a thorough examination that included use of a nonintrusive inspection system, CBP officers discovered five packages containing a total of $79,392 in unreported currency hidden within the vehicle.

CBP officers seized the currency. Homeland Security Investigations special agents arrested the driver and initiated a criminal investigation.

It is not a crime to carry more than $10,000, but it is a federal offense not to declare currency or monetary instruments totaling $10,000 or more to a CBP officer upon entry or exit from the U.S. or to conceal it with intent to evade reporting requirements. Failure to declare may result in seizure of the currency and/or arrest. An individual may petition for the return of currency seized by CBP officers, but the petitioner must prove that the source and intended use of the currency was legitimate.

Has Texas CBP seized your bulk cash?

Has Texas CBP seized your bulk cash? If so, we can help. Read our helpful customs money seizure legal guide (or watch the videos) and contact us for a free currency seizure consultation by clicking the contact buttons on this page.

Cash and Gold Seized by CBP in Dulles

Dulles CBP Seizes $90K in Cash from 5 people: August 2024

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

The latest CBP money seizure news publicized comes to us from Dulles airport (again). In the story below, CBP seized a total of $90,535 from different people at different dates in August.

CBP seized the money for violation of the currency reporting requirements, which includes the failure to report the currency using a FinCEN 105 form.

STERLING, Va. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers remind travelers heading on overseas trips to comply with U.S. currency reporting laws after officers seized a combined $90,535 from five travelers during August at Washington Dulles International Airport.

Travelers can take as much currency or other monetary instruments they want on their international trips; however, federal law requires travelers to report all currency of $10,000 or greater to a CBP officer. CBP officers will assist travelers in completing the U.S. Treasury Department currency reporting form – the Report of International Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments [FINCEN 105].

Travelers can get an early start on reporting their currency by completing the FINCEN 105 PDF, or guided FINCEN 105 online form on CBP’s website prior to a CBP arrivals inspection or departure inspection.

In addition to having their currency seized, travelers risk other consequences, such as missing their departure or connecting flight, interrupting vacation plans, or facing potential criminal prosecution.

Of the five seizures, four were recorded on travelers departing the United States to either Bogota, Colombia, Doha, Qatar, or Accra, Ghana. The fifth seizure was recorded on a traveler arriving from Shanghai, China.

CBP currency detector dog Fuzz, a 4-year-old male yellow labrador retriever, helped to detect unreported currency during three of the seizures.

During each inspection, CBP officers explained U.S. currency reporting laws to the travelers and asked how much currency they possessed. Each of the travelers provided verbal and written declarations of their currency, and as necessary, officers helped travelers complete FINCEN 105 forms for those who reported over $10,000.

During subsequent searches of the travelers and their carryon baggage, CBP officers found additional unreported currency and seized the currency.

CBP is not releasing any of the travelers’ names because none were criminally charged.

Has Detroit Metro Airport CBP seized your cash?

If CBP at Detroit Metro Airport seized your cash, you need a lawyer. Read our trusted customs money seizure legal guide (or watch the videos) and can contact us for a free currency seizure consultation by clicking the contact buttons on this page.
About $13,000 in Chinese currency on a table seized by CBP in Detroit

Detroit CBP Cash Seizure Summer Round-up

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

CBP in Detroit has continued to log large cash seizures for smuggling, structuring, and failure to report (on form FinCen 105) through the second half of summer.

CBP has been sharing photographs of these cash seizures on the X account for the Director of Field Operations for Detroit. CBP seizes cash from anyone entering or leaving the country at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, the Ambassador Bridge, and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.

The first post is from July 30 for a cash seizure that happened at Metro Detroit Airport (DTW). CBP officers seized mostly Chinese currency:

This second post is from the Ambassador bridge. On this occasion, CBP seized almost $17,000 from someone for failing to file an accurate report on form FinCen 105:

Has Detroit Metro Airport CBP seized your cash?

If Detroit CBP seized your cash, you need a lawyer. Read our trusted customs money seizure legal guide (or watch the videos) and can contact us for a free currency seizure consultation by clicking the contact buttons on this page.

Money laid out on a steel table of seized by CBP in Philadelphia

Philly CBP Seizes $36K in Cash

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

In Philadelphia, CBP officers seized $36,000 in cash from a man returning from a trip to Lebanon. The full story indicates that he initially was stopped and asked to make a verbal report, and only reported $15,000. Then…

Officers conducted a baggage examination and in total counted $36,834 in the traveler’s possession. Officers seized the total $36,834 for violating currency reporting laws. Officers then remitted $834 to the man as a humanitarian relief and released him to continue his travel.

As I’ve talked about in other places on this website and in my Youtube channel, if CBP has to ask you to make a verbal report, you’ve already committed a violation of the reporting requirement.

That is because the reporting requirement does not allow verbal reports. You must make the report using FinCen Form 105. Even if you make an accurate verbal report, CBP could still seize the money because you did not file the required form!

This is the trap. It is like when a police officer pulls you over and asks you:

“The speed limit is 70mph. Do you know how fast you were going?

“Yes, officer. I was doing 82mph.”

In that situation, you admitted violating the law. The officer doesn’t have to prove it with his own evidence, like a report from his radar. Similarly, if you report have more than $10,000 without having filed the FinCen 105 form, CBP does not have to prove anything else. You’ve admitted your own violation.

Has Philadelphia CBP seized your cash?

If Philadelphia CBP seized your cash, read our trusted customs money seizure legal guide (or watch the videos) and contact us for a free currency seizure consultation by clicking the contact buttons on this page.

New Section 301 (China) Tariff Rates and Exclusions Request for Comments

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) made public a “Request for Comments” after the report on the 4-year review of the Section 301 China Tariffs (see that story here).

The comment period, open to the participation of interested parties, will run from May 29, 204 to June 28, 2024. Comments must be submitted through the USTR comment portal. Comments can be submitted concerning:

  1. Adding or increasing section 301 duty rates
  2. Subheadings eligible for an temporary duty-exclusion process for “particular machinery used in domestic manufacturing” classified within certain subheading under Chapter 84 and 85 of the HTSUS
  3. 19 potential exclusions for “certain solar manufacturing equipment” (effectively immediately and to expire on May 31, 2025).

The notice details the proposed changes as follows:

Consistent with the President’s direction to increase section 301 tariff rates on certain categories of products, included in Annex A to this notice are 382 HTSUS subheadings and 5 statistical reporting numbers of the HTSUS, with an approximate annual trade value of $18 billion (2023). The President has directed that increases for certain products take effect in 2024, 2025, and 2026. The Trade Representative is proposing that increases in 2024 be effective August 1, 2024, and that increases in 2025 and 2026 be effective January 1 of the corresponding year.

There’s a lot more detail in the full notice which is available here. Contact Great Lakes Customs Law at 734-855-4990 via the contact page for assistance.

Section 301 Duties to Increase from 2024 to 2026

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

UPDATE 9/13/24: Notice of Modification of Actions, certain tariffs set to increase on September 27, 2024, with other increases to following on January 1, 2025 and January 1, 2026.

UPDATE 5/22/24: Details about affected HTS subheadings and the comment period are contained in a new notice from the USTR: Request for Comments on Proposed Modifications and Machinery Exclusion Process in Four-Year Review of Actions Taken in the Section 301 Investigation: China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation

[original story from 5/14/22 continues]

The USTR has published a report (linked here) on the 4-year review of the Section 301 duties imposed on Chinese-origin goods and as a result, additional increases are coming to the Section 301, as follows:

Battery parts (non-lithium-ion batteries) Increase rate to 25% in 2024
Electric vehicles Increase rate to 100% in 2024
Facemasks Increase rate to 25% in 2024
Lithium-ion electrical vehicle batteries Increase rate to 25% in 2024
Lithium-ion non-electrical vehicle batteries Increase rate to 25% in 2026
Medical gloves Increase rate to 25% in 2026
Natural graphite Increase rate to 25% in 2026
Other critical minerals Increase rate to 25% in 2024
Permanent magnets Increase rate to 25% in 2026
Semiconductors Increase rate to 50% in 2025
Ship to shore cranes Increase rate to 25% in 2024
Solar cells (whether or not assembled into modules) Increase rate to 50% in 2024
Steel and aluminum products Increase rate to 25% in 2024
Syringes and needles Increase rate to 50% in 2024

An exclusion process will be established for machinery used in domestic manufacturing, including certain solar manufacturing equipment.

More information is available in the press release at the USTR website.

Stacks of cash seized by CBP in Detroit

CBP Hauls in Big Cash Seizures in Detroit

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

CBP in April and May continue to log huge cash seizures from arriving and departing traveler’s at the Port of Detroit, including at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, the Ambassador Bridge, and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.

CBP has been sharing photographs of these cash seizures on the X account for the Director of Field Operations for Detroit. These cash reporting violation seizures fall within the purview of the DFO. See the first post, below, from back on April 19:

Then, another seizure on May 10 totaling $21,230, from someone who was alleged to have admitted “intentionally misreporting” the amount of currency he was traveling with.

Has Detroit Metro Airport CBP seized your cash?

If CBP at Detroit Metro Airport seized your cash, you need a lawyer. Read our trusted customs money seizure legal guide (or watch the videos) and can contact us for a free currency seizure consultation by clicking the contact buttons on this page.

US and Canadian Currency Seized by CBP in March 2024

Detroit Cash Seizures at Ambassador Bridge & Detroit Metro Airport in March 2024

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

CBP officers in Detroit had their own version of March madness, when they seized around $370,000 total in cash from travelers at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, and another $100,000 at the Ambassador Bridge that connects the US & Canada (these figures are according to CBP’s really awesome currency seizure dashboard).

I was away from X/Twitter for a while but checked back in when I learned a new Director of Field Operations was appointed for the Detroit Field Office at CBP. Lo, and behold, there was lot of publicized seizure activity for March. A bonus was the high-res images images of the seized currency for a few cases for the month. So here is a walk-through of those seizure incidents for March 2024:

On March 1, there was a total of $30,000 seized (in more than one incident) at Detroit Metropolitan airport for passengers arriving in the United States:

Usually, people arriving with cash (who are usually not arrested) bring it with them for travel expenses, purchases, college tuition, and things of that nature.

On March 3rd, there was a total of $23,000 seized in combined amounts of U.S. dollars and Canadian currency at the Ambassador Bridge:

The activity at the Ambassador Bridge also includes travelers, but there’s always a good number of people gambling at Windsor or Detroit casinos who run afoul of the currency reporting laws when they’re crossing the border with their winnings.

On March 8, CBP seized $30,000 from someone leaving the United States for Amsterdam (probably where they would catch another connecting flight somewhere else….) at Detroit Metro Airport:

On March 23, a similar story with $22,000 seized from two travelers (seemingly traveling together) at Detroit Metro Airport on their way out of the United States (true story: most people don’t know they have to report amounts over $10,000 when leaving the country!):

Has Detroit CBP seized your cash?

If CBP in Detroit seized your cash whether at the Detroit Metro airport, the Ambassador Bridge, or the Tunnel, you need a lawyer. Read our trusted customs money seizure legal guide (or watch the videos) and can contact us for a free currency seizure consultation by clicking the contact buttons on this page.