Category: Bulk Cash Smuggling

CBP Seizes $51k Cash and Make Arrest

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on July 23, 2015

At Miami airport, a traveler from Chile had a run in with U.S. Customs & Border Protection that resulted in a seizure of $51,777. As disclosed by the story below (full version HERE), it a resulted in an arrest, presumably for a currency reporting violation — reporting $20,000 even though he was transporting more than $50,000, and/or dividing his money between he and other travelers in what is commonly called a “structuring” violation.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers at Miami International Airport (MIA) arrested a Chilean citizen Thursday for violating federal currency reporting requirements.

During a secondary inspection on July 9th, the man, who arrived from Santiago, Chile, reported possessing $20,000 USD. It was later discovered that the man had given money to three co-travelers in order to evade currency reporting requirements, an illegal practice known as currency structuring. In total, the cash added up to $51,777. CBP officers seized the money and arrested the subject. The subject and currency were turned over to Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD).

“Customs and Border Protection officers offer travelers multiple opportunities to truthfully report their currency, but those who refuse to comply with federal currency reporting requirements face severe consequences, including potential criminal charges,” said Christopher Maston, Port Director, Miami International Airport.

The only different nuance in this story which is not altogether apparent is why the currency was turned over to the local police department. Typically, Customs seizes the currency, but apparently Customs did not want to be bothered with it in this case. My hunch would be that, in this case, there was more going on (i.e., criminally) than the failure to report and structuring, which resulted in arrest and local law enforcement getting involved in the arrest and seizure.

If you have had currency seized from Customs do not try to respond yourself but hire our firm, because we know what we are doing and have successfully handled many cases like yours. If you have questions, please give us a call at (734) 855-4999. We are able to assist with cash seized by customs around the country, including Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and many other places, and not just locally in Detroit. Please read these other articles:

Detroit CBP: “Don’t Lose your Dough, Know Before You Go” – $8M and Counting

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on July 14, 2015

Detroit CBP seizes a lot of currency from arriving travelers for failure to report, structuring, or bulk cash smuggling offenses. How much is “a lot”? CBP in Detroit has seized nearly $8 million dollars in currency since October 1, 2014. This seems like more than previous years (reported here). While the following news release, cleverly titled “Don’t lose your dough, know before you go” only explicitly deals with failure to report customs currency seizure violations, it very likely includes structuring and bulk cash smuggling offenses as part of this grand total:

DETROIT— So far during fiscal year (FY) 2015, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO) has seized over $7,900,000 in unreported currency at ports of entry within the Detroit Field Office.

The transport of any currency and/or monetary instruments (i.e. cashier’s checks) over $10,000 must be reported to a CBP Officer upon arrival into or exiting the United States. Penalties can range from civil fines up to and including seizure of the currency and arrest.

“There is no limit as to how much currency travelers can import or export; however to avoid subjecting the money to seizure, it’s always best to report it and file the proper paperwork” said Christopher Perry, Director of Field Operations for the Detroit Field Office.

Currency and reporting laws were enacted to thwart bulk cash smuggling of drug trafficking organizations, terrorist finance networks and other criminal activities.

If you have had cash seized by customs and are contemplating what to do next, please make use of the other information available on this website or call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a customs lawyer, or e-mail us through our contact page. We are able to assist with cash seized by customs around the country, including Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and many other places, and not just locally in Detroit. Please read these other articles:

CBP at Dulles Airport Seizes $72K over 3 days

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on July 9, 2015

CBP seized over $70,000 from 3 travellers at Washington Dulles airport recently. This was reported yesterday by CBP (read it here), with some additional follow-up in an article at the Washington Post (read it here).

The Washington Post does an alright job of reporting why the currency was seized, but understandably mixes up its legal terminology; seizure is different from forfeiture. Likewise, a “simple” failure to report violation does not, in and of it self, give rise to a bulk cash smuggling violation. Failure to report is money is not reported, or is not accurately reported; bulk cash smuggling is when money is hidden on a person or in their effects with purpose and intent that, by hiding it, they will avoid the requirement, to file a currency report.

Here is the story from CBP. Notice no criminal charges were filed yet:

STERLING, Va. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized a combined $72,095 in unreported currency from three travelers at Washington Dulles International Airport over the past three days.

There is no limit to how much currency travelers may bring to, or take from the U.S. However, federal law requires travelers to complete financial reporting forms for any amount that exceeds $10,000 in U.S. dollars or equivalent foreign currency.

The first seizure occurred Saturday when a U.S. lawful permanent resident who arrived from Iran reported verbally and in writing that she possessed $10,000. While inspecting the woman’s luggage, CBP officers discovered Euros equivalent to $27,525 in U.S. dollars and $2,135 in U.S. currency for a total of $29,660.

On Sunday, a U.S. citizen arrived from Dubai, U.A.E., and reported verbally and in writing that she possessed $10,000. While examining her luggage, CBP officers discovered a total of $20,435.

The final seizure Monday occurred during an outbound international flight enforcement operation. A man destined for Ukraine reported to CBP officers that he possessed $15,000 and completed a financial reporting form stating that amount. During a search of the man’s carry-on baggage, CBP officers discovered an additional $8,000. CBP officers seized $22,000 and released $1,000 back to the man for humanitarian purposes.

CBP officers seized all currency, a combined $72,095, and released all three travelers.

CBP officers provide travelers with multiple opportunities to truthfully report all of their currency. Travelers who refuse to comply with federal currency reporting requirements risk having their currency seized, and potentially face criminal charges.

“Seizing a traveler’s currency is not a pleasant experience, but there are severe consequences for violating U.S. laws,” said Wayne Biondi, CBP Port Director for the Port of Washington Dulles. “We hope that these seizures are a lesson for all travelers that the easiest way to hold on to their currency is to honestly report it all to a Customs and Border Protection officer.”

In addition to currency enforcement, CBP routinely conducts inspection operations on arriving and departing international flights and intercepts narcotics, weapons, prohibited agriculture products, and other illicit items.

If you have had your currency seized, please call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a customs lawyer, or e-mail us through our contact page. We are able to assist with cash seized by customs around the country, including Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and many other places, and not just locally in Detroit. Please read these other articles:

Customs Currency Seizure of $100k

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on June 25, 2015

U.S. Customs seized over $100,000 from some Mexican nationals leaving the United States. This is a different scenario from the usual airport currency seizure case we handle. In this instance, it appears that the people transporting (smuggling) the money are facing criminal prosecution because their names are being used.

The full story is here, but is excerpted below:

Two Mexican nationals were arrested on Tuesday for failing to report more than $100,000 in U.S. currency when they attempted to drive into Mexico through the Port of Douglas.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers conducting outbound inspections selected a Chevrolet truck, driven by Dennis Armando Brown-Lopez, 43, for further inspection when he and Maria Delia Barrientos-Romero, 45, both of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, attempted to cross into Mexico.

After officers discovered the currency hidden with the truck, they processed the vehicle and currency for seizure, and referred Brown and Barrientos to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Over $265,000 Seized by Customs at Brownsville

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on June 23, 2015

Currency seizures by U.S. Customs & Border Protection come in all sizes and every different set of circumstances imaginable. The vast majority of our clients have their currency seized when they are arriving or departing the United States at an airport by Customs for an alleged failure to report, bulk cash smuggling, or for structuring violations.

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and that also goes for currency seizures. Here in Michigan, we share a very larger border with Canada, but Canada does not have the same reputation as Mexico. So you can imagine the reasons people are transporting more than $10,000 between the United States and Mexico.

Here is one of the those stories that recently hit the news that involves seizure of $267,617 in two separate incidents. The first seizure was effect on a 74 year old man for $217,617, and the second was a 21 year old man with $50,000.

74-year-old male United States citizen from San Benito, Texas, was referred to secondary inspection, officers detected packages, which later resulted being unreported U.S. currency hidden within the vehicle.

On June 12 CBP officers working at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge came in contact with a green 1999 Dodge Caravan as it attempted to make entry into the United States from Mexico. The driver, a 74-year-old male United States citizen from San Benito, Texas, was referred to secondary for further inspection. During the inspection and with the use of a vehicle non-intrusive imaging system, officers detected packages, which later resulted being unreported U.S. currency hidden within the vehicle. Officers removed and seized multiple packages of bulk U.S. currency totaling $217,617.

On June 13 CBP officers working outbound operations at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge came in contact with a brown 1999 Chevy Tahoe as it attempted to exit the United States into Mexico. Officers referred the driver, a 21-year-old male United States citizen residing in Matamoros, Mexico for further secondary inspection. During the examination, CBP officers discovered five packages of bulk U.S. currency hidden within the vehicle, totaling $50,000.

$39K in Unreported Currency by U.S. Customs at Houston Airport

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on June 16, 2015

U.S. Customs and Border Protection seizes a lot of money. In the last fiscal year, customs seized more than $81 million dollars in “undeclared or illicit currency.” On June 6, Customs seized over $39,000 in cash from a traveler arriving from Nicaragua. The story says it was seized for a “failure to properly report currency” exceeding $10,000, however, the fact that the money was tucked away in the pockets of 3 different pairs of jeans could give Customs enough facts to allege that it was concealed for the purposes of evading the report requirement — otherwise known as bulk cash smuggling.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, June 6, seized over $39,000 after a traveler failed to properly report the money as required by U.S. law.

Some of the money was stored in the pocket of the traveler’s clothing.

The traveler, a 39-year-old U. S. citizen, arrived from Managua, Nicaragua and was enroute to Los Angeles, California.

While conducting an enforcement operation, CBP Officers encountered the traveler, and asked if he was transporting more than $10,000 in either currency or other monetary instruments. The traveler reported he was transporting $7,800; however, a search of his luggage discovered U.S. currency tucked in the pockets of three pair of jeans packed in his suitcase. The total amount of currency seized was $ 39,162.

The currency was seized for failure to properly report currency in an aggregate amount exceeding $10,000.

“International travelers are provided multiple opportunities to truthfully report the amount of currency they are carrying,” said CBP Port Director Charles Perez. “Those who refuse to comply with the federal reporting requirements face the risk of having that currency seized.

“There is absolutely no limit to the amount of currency a traveler can bring into or take out of the United State,” Perez added. “The only requirement is to report amounts that reach or exceed $10,000.”

Travelers report currency by completing FinCEN Form 105 and giving it to a CBP officer. Currency is not limited to U.S. currency, but includes all negotiable monetary instruments such as Traveler’s Checks, money orders and securities. A complete list of negotiable monetary instruments is available on FinCEN Form 105.

Some of that money might be connected to illegal activity but a lot of that money is also from innocent, arriving travelers, confused about the currency reporting requirement. This appears to be one of those innocent cases where, for whatever reason (be it panic, ignorance, or unfair questioning), he only reported $7,800 instead of the nearly $40,000 that he was carrying. Because Customs has not disclosed his name, it sounds as though criminal charges were not filed yet.

Money Seized, Smuggling Prevented by CBP in Yuma

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on May 28, 2015

CBP is reporting on a story of a bulk cash smuggling seizure of $25,000 in Arizona.

Coincidentally, we are in the process of preparing an article on the consequences of bulk cash smuggling currency seizure cases and how they differ from money seizure for a simple failure to report amounts over $10,000. The bulk cash smuggling charges are far more serious than the (already serious) failure to report charges. If you’ve had your cash seized for bulk cash smuggling under 31 USC 5332 (more on that law HERE) then you really need an attorney — that’s because even when legitimate source and intended use are proven — you could still lose all of your cash because it was smuggled.

Here’s the story, told along with other various exploits of Yuma CBP:

Friday night, an immigration inspection of a Greyhound Bus in Blythe, Calif. resulted in the seizure of $25,000 from a female Legal Permanent Resident Card holder. The female had the cash taped to her waistline. She claimed she was just transporting the money. The currency was seized as per Yuma Sector guidelines and the female was released.

If you have had money seized by CBP and don’t know what to do, call our office at (734) 855-4999 or through our contact page. We are able to assist with cash seized by customs around the country, including Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, San Francisco, Miami, and many other places, and not just locally in Detroit. Please read these other articles: