Tag: ambassador bridge

$200,000 in Cash Seized by Customs Detroit at the Ambassador Bridge

Ambassador Bridge Site of $230k Customs Money Seizure

Detroit’s Ambassador Bridge was the site of recent money seizures of more nearly $230,000 by Customs for failure to declare cash over $10,000, in commercial vehicles traveling into Canada.

Bundles of undeclared seized cash seized by Detroit CBP The news releases, below, says the money was taken because the driver failed to report the cash at the Ambassador Bridge (but I have to imagine there is a bulk cash smuggling violation somewhere in this, too).

Here’s the Tweet from Detroit’s director of field operations announcing the seizures…

This is the biggest seizure of undeclared cash in Detroit to hit the news in a while. I’m sure the discovery of this amount of money has caused a lot of controversy and interest at the port the last few days. Here’s the full story from CBP, below:

DETROIT — Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Office of Field Operations seized $200,000 in undeclared U.S. currency at the Canadian border early Tuesday morning.

The cash was discovered by officers during a series of outbound commercial vehicle inspections near the Ambassador Bridge port of entry.

The cache of currency was seized due to failure to report, and the driver was released without further incident.

Homeland Security Investigations continues to investigate the matter. Less than 24 hours earlier, $28,000 in undeclared currency was seized at the same site.

Update 11-12-21:

This week, notice was published of the intent to forfeit the above seized cash. Anyone with an interest in it has until January 11, 2021, to file a claim (unless they received personal notice in the mail, then other deadlines apply):

2021380100131801-0001-0000, Seized on 09/28/2021; At the port of DETROIT; U.S. Currency; 2000; EA; Valued at $200,000.00; For violation of 31 USC 5317(c)(2), 31 USC 5316(a)(1)(A), 31 USC 5332(c), 31 USC 5332(a)

Those legal references mean it was seized for bulk cash smuggling and a failure to report. This is a case I would have liked. The fact that notice has been posted publicly means that the time for filing a petition has past, or the interested person probably decided to file a claim or an offer in compromise (that would probably be a bad idea).

Has Detroit CBP seized your cash?

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

 

CBP checkpoint at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel border crossing, with vehicles in the foreground.

Detroit & Chicago Cash Forfeiture Notices

There have not been any CBP news releases recently about cash seizures conducted by U.S. Customs & Border Protection, but that does not mean CBP has stopped seizing cash. Far from it, in fact. For example, there are only a couple (if that) of cash seizure news releases from the Port of Detroit each year, yet last year they were #2 in cash seizures nationwide.

Once cash is seized by CBP, a person has several options to try to get it back (or to not get it back), most of which are on the election of proceedings form. If they aren’t successful, don’t try to get the money back, or file a claim, the publication of the notice of seizure and intent to forfeit is published online for all the world to see and, if interested, to make a claim for the seized cash.

Case in point, on November 20, 2015, at the land border crossing between Detroit and Canada $14,000 cash was seized by U.S. Customs & Border Protection for a failure to report. Because the seizure occurred last November and is only now being published, it is very likely that the administrative resolution was unsuccessful.

That usually means a bad lawyer, no lawyer, or insufficient documentation showing legitimate source and use of the seized cash.

DETROIT, MI
2016380100013401-001-0000, Seized on 11/20/2015; At the port of DETROIT, MI; $14000 IN USD; 140; EA; Valued at $14,000.00; For violation of 31USC5317, 31USC5316, 31CFR1010.340(A)

Now even though Detroit has more CBP cash seizures than Chicago for violating the reporting requirements, Chicago CBP seizes a lot of cash seizures for alleged criminal violations, including money laundering:

CHICAGO, IL
2016390100098701-001-0000, Seized on 08/11/2016; At the port of CHICAGO, IL; U.S. CURRENCY; 1,344; EA; Valued at $31,000.00; For violation of 18USC981, 18USC1956, 21USC881

2016390100098901-001-0000, Seized on 08/10/2016; At the port of CHICAGO, IL; U.S. CURRENCY; 176; EA;Valued at $4,000.00; For violation of 18USC981, 18USC1956, 21USC881

Now, I would love to know if these were seized from people traveling internationally, or just people traveling within the United States. If seized while traveling internationally, because there is no cited violation of the reporting requirement (or bulk cash smuggling or structuring laws), I would imagine either the money was truly reported but Customs suspected (or knew of…) a connection to illegal activity; or, the connection to illegal activity was so strong they chose not to allege a violation of the reporting requirements laws under Title 31.

Has Chicago or Detroit CBP seized your cash?

If CBP in Chicago or Detroit seized your cash, you need a lawyer. Read our trusted customs money seizure legal guide and can contact us for a free currency seizure consultation by clicking the contact buttons on this page. Our new, Chicago customs law office is located at 150 S. Wacker Drive, where we can be reached at (773) 920-1840.

Detroit CBP seized cash (counterfeit money)

Any customs lawyer will tell you that it’s better to get caught failing to report real cash getting caught importing counterfeit cash. Detroit CBP seized cash (counterfeit) as a result of the currency reporting requirement. The purpose of the currency reporting requirement is to do exactly this — catch people who are bringing in illegal (in this case counterfeit) money into the United States.

You can educate yourself using our trusted “customs money seizure legal roadmap” as a guide to understanding what to do if Detroit CBP seized cash from you. In the particular case below, the the following news release clearly demonstrates why Detroit CBP does not allow anyone to under-report cash:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport announces the seizure of $32,300 in counterfeit U.S. currency from a Ghanaian citizen.

“This amount of counterfeit cash can inflict serious harm on a local economy.” says Devin Chamberlain, port director. “I am pleased that the officers’ attention to detail

Image of location near where Detroit CBP seized cash (counterfeit) at Detroit Metro Airport (DTW).
Detroit CBP seized cash (counterfeit) at Detroit Metro Airport (DTW).

resulted in this seizure.”

On Sunday November 17, CBP officers encountered a male citizen of Ghana after he arrived in Detroit on a flight from Amsterdam. Because he did not complete a required customs declaration, CBP form 6059b, he was asked to complete this form while his passport was being checked. The traveler checked “no” that he was carrying more than $10,000 however reported to the officer verbally that he indeed had more than $10,000 and made an error on the form. A secondary search of his luggage resulted in the discovery of $32,300 in U.S. currency that CBP officers suspected, was counterfeit.

Agents from the U.S. Secret Service and Homeland Security Investigations were notified and responded. The counterfeit cash and traveler were turned over to Secret Service. The United States Attorney’s Office has accepted the case for Federal prosecution.

Based on these facts, I doubt the man knew that the cash seized by Detroit CBP was counterfeit. Nevertheless, his bumbling answer and the failure to accurately report in the first place in his being arrested and pending criminal charges.

Did Detroit CBP seize cash from you?

If Detroit CBP seized cash from you at Detroit Metro Airport, the Ambassador Bridge, or the Detroit-Windsor-Tunnel, you can learn more from our trusted legal road-map of a customs money seizure and can contact us for a free currency seizure consultation by clicking the contact buttons on this page.