Our customs currency seizure clients typically aren’t the type of people who smuggle hundreds of thousands of dollars across the border as part of some crime (see our typical cases here), and so the amounts of seized currency we typically see don’t quite reach the proportions of these recent CBP currency seizures in Arizona that netted CBP of more than a half million bucks. If these people could prove they weren’t up to no-good by showing the money came from a legitimate source and had a legitimate intended use, then this seizure of their money was completely avoidable. Read our popular information on responding to a currency seizure by clicking HERE.
Just look at this story below:
TUCSON, Ariz. – One week after seizing almost half a million dollars in unreported U.S. currency at a crossing in Nogales, Arizona, port officials apprehended a 25-year-old Mexican national Sunday for failing to declare more than $190,000 when he attempted to cross into Mexico through the Port of Nogales.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers conducting outbound inspections at the Mariposa crossing selected a vehicle driven by Luis Yovanni De La Herran-Zamudio for further inspection and found the unreported money hidden beneath his vehicle’s rear hatch.
Officers processed the vehicle and currency for seizure, and referred De La Herran to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
On Aug. 16, officers at the DeConcini crossing seized $420,000 from a male resident of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.
Easy come, easy go.  Let’s be realistic, the currency was more than just “un-reported” as the story says: it was completely concealed (hello, bulk cash smuggling violations). And since the man was arrested, we reasonably guess there were some truly suspicious circumstances beyond just an inadvertent failure to file a currency report.
But now, even if criminal charges were not filed or if they are ultimately found not guilty of a crime they may still face civil forfeiture of the money. They will have to fight for its return administratively, or in the courts. 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.
Read these other articles about customs currency seizures:
- Seizure of currency and monetary instruments by U.S. Customs
- Customs currency seizure for bulk cash smuggling into or out of the U.S.
- Customs currency seizure; Structuring currency imports and exports
- Is it $10,000 per person? Â Under what circumstances is filing a report with Customs for transporting more than $10,000 required?
- Criminal & civil penalties for failing to report monetary instrument transportation
- Is only cash currency subject to seizure by Customs?
- Getting money seized by U.S. Customs back while staying overseas
- How long does it take Customs to decide a petition for a currency/monetary instrument seizure?
- Customs currency seizure; Tuition Money Seized by Customs