The El Paso Times reported on a currency seizure by CBP in El Paso, Texas involving a woman who was attempting to walk across the border into Mexico carrying $25,000 in cash — three bundles of currency found in her purse, none of it reported. What makes this case worth discussing is not the amount or the location, but what happened after the seizure: the district attorney decided to prosecute, and the woman was held without bond facing criminal charges.
What Happens After Every Currency Seizure
Here is something most people do not know: every time CBP seizes currency, the agency refers the case to the district attorney’s office and asks whether they want to prosecute. This happens in every case — not just the large ones, not just the ones involving concealment, not just the ones where CBP suspects drug trafficking. Every seizure gets referred.
In the vast majority of cases, the DA declines. The case proceeds as a civil forfeiture — the money is seized, a CAFRA notice is issued, and the dispute is resolved through CBP’s administrative process without any criminal charges. That is the typical outcome, and it is why most of my clients are never arrested or charged with a crime in connection with their seizures.
But as this case demonstrates, that is not always the result. The DA has discretion to prosecute, and when they exercise it — particularly at Texas land border ports where bulk cash outbound is presumed to be drug-related — the consequences are severe. This woman was held without bond. That means a judge determined she was either a flight risk or a danger to the community significant enough to deny bail entirely. Whatever the facts behind the $25,000 in her purse, the criminal justice system is now treating her case as serious.
Three Bundles in a Purse — Why the Details Matter
The currency was found in three bundles inside her purse. The bundling detail is significant. Currency that has been bundled — banded together in organized groupings — is more consistent with prepared transport than with cash someone happens to be carrying for personal use. It is the kind of detail that CBP officers are trained to notice and that prosecutors use to support the narrative that the money was being deliberately transported rather than casually carried.
The three-bundle configuration also supports a bulk cash smuggling allegation under 31 U.S.C. § 5332. Unlike a simple failure to report under § 5316 — where the money is simply undeclared — bulk cash smuggling requires knowing concealment with intent to evade the reporting requirement. Organized, pre-bundled currency concealed in a purse rather than openly presented is exactly what CBP points to as evidence of that intent. Whether a jury ultimately agrees is a separate question, but the facts as reported give the prosecution a coherent story to tell.
Criminal Charges and Civil Forfeiture Run on Separate Tracks
Even if the criminal charges are ultimately dropped, or if she is acquitted at trial, the civil forfeiture of the $25,000 proceeds independently. An acquittal does not automatically result in return of the seized funds. A prosecution declining to proceed does not resolve the civil case. The two tracks are legally independent, and each has its own deadlines, its own standards of proof, and its own procedural requirements.
This is one of the most consequential things people in this situation fail to understand. They assume that if the criminal case goes away — if no charges are filed, or if they are found not guilty — the money comes back automatically. It does not. The election of proceedings deadline in the civil forfeiture case runs from the date of the CAFRA notice of seizure regardless of what is happening in the criminal case. Miss that deadline and the civil forfeiture is complete, permanently, even if she is later exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing.
Coordinating the civil forfeiture response with the criminal defense is one of the most delicate aspects of cases like this. What you say in the civil proceeding can be used in the criminal case, and vice versa. The civil petition is a legal document — anything in it that amounts to an admission of a violation can damage the criminal defense. This is exactly the situation where having both a criminal defense attorney and a customs attorney working in coordination is essential.
This Was Completely Avoidable
If the $25,000 was from a legitimate source and was intended for a lawful purpose — and that is entirely possible, as I have handled cases with far more suspicious-looking facts that turned out to have completely legitimate explanations — then this situation results from a single decision: not filing a FinCEN 105 form before crossing. There is no law against walking into Mexico with $25,000 in cash. You just have to report it. The form takes minutes to file, costs nothing, and would have allowed her to keep walking with every dollar.
Instead, she is now facing criminal charges, being held without bond, and has lost the money to civil forfeiture — all of it avoidable with a form. The long-term consequences of a cash seizure are severe even in civil-only cases. In a criminal case, they are far more so.
If CBP Has Seized Your Cash, Get an Attorney
If you have had currency seized by CBP — at El Paso, at any other Texas port, or anywhere in the country — do not try to handle it on your own. The currency seizure articles on this site can help you understand the process, but they are not a substitute for legal advice tailored to your specific facts and circumstances. Clients who represent themselves or who hire attorneys without customs law experience consistently get worse outcomes. The most important thing you can do immediately after a seizure is stop talking to CBP and get a lawyer involved before any deadlines pass.
Read our customs money seizure legal guide or watch the video series, and see our currency seizure case outcomes for examples of what experienced representation achieves. Contact us for a free consultation using the options on this page.