Tag: cameroon

Dulles CBP Seized $46K in Money from Airport Traveler

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on November 5, 2021

CBP at Dulles airport seized $46,000 from a man traveling to Cameroon. He reported having $30,000, but CBP found $16,628 more tucked away inside his carry-on bag (ahem, bulk cash smuggling). The full story is here, with my comments on the excerpt below:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized $46,628 in unreported currency (ahem, failure to report) from a man traveling to Cameroon at Washington Dulles International Airport on Monday.

CBP officers conducted random outbound inspections of passengers boarding a flight to Brussels, Belgium and asked a U.S. citizen how much currency he possessed. The man reported verbally that he had $30,000 and completed a U.S. Treasury Department form (FINCEN 105). During a subsequent examination of the man’s carry-on bags, CBP officers discovered a total of $46,628 in U.S. dollars.

. . .

CBP seized the currency and returned $628 to the man as humanitarian relief and released the man to continue his travel. CBP is not releasing the traveler’s name because he was not criminally charged.

Bad things can happen to you if you do not report your currency, read all about that at Long Term Consequences of Cash Seizure (or if you prefer to watch me talk about it, go to my YouTube video on the topic)

Has Dulles CBP seized your cash?

If Dulles CBP has seized your cash, we urge you to call us for a consultation before considering doing it yourself. You probably will not be happy with the outcome if you do, based on Dulles’ aggressive posture in most cases. 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.

Dulles CBP Seizes $44,000 from Ethiopia Traveler

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on March 31, 2021

CBP officers at Dulles Airport their Washington DC, which happens to be part of the wider Baltimore Field office, seized almost $44,000 from a permanent resident and citizen of Cameroon who was traveling to Ethiopia.

As often happens, he was prompted to complete a currency reporting form after indicating that he possessed money. But, he only reported $10,000. Upon obtaining the false report, customs officers inspected his possessions and discovered that he actually possessed $43,000.

Here is the full story as contained in the news release:

STERLING, Va. –U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Washington Dulles International Airport seized nearly $44,000 in unreported currency from an Ethiopia-bound traveler on Monday.

CBP officers inspected a traveler as he attempted to board his departing flight. The man, a Cameroon citizen and U.S. lawful permanent resident, reported that he possessed $10,000 and completed a financial reporting form. While examining the man’s carryon bag, CBP officers discovered $43,580. Officers seized $43,000 and returned $580 to the man as humanitarian relief. Officer released him to continue his travel.

CBP is not releasing the man’s name since he was not criminally charged. An investigation continues.

My usual disclaimer about the difficulty of getting money back after a seizure at CBP Dulles applies. Anyone who has money seized at Dulles Airport can expect a long and arduous process which will include scrupulously documenting the source of the money, including the production of detailed financial records, explanations of particular deposits into one’s bank account, and of course, scrupulous documentation translated into English about the intended use of the money.

Has Dulles CBP seized your cash?

CBP officer revealing $27,500 concealed in a traveler's backpack, seized for bulk cash smuggling and not reporting

Dulles CBP Seizes $53k in Cash

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on December 11, 2018

Dulles does it again, seizing $53,000 from two different people at the time they left the United States.

In one incident, when stopped before leaving on a plane from the United States to Cameroon, a man reported having $26,000, but was found to have $36,668.

In the other incident, a man and his family were leaving for Sudan. They reported having $11,000, but in fact, they had $16,500.

In the first instance, the presence of “six envelopes” tells me that this man was probably carrying money back to Cameroon for other people, probably to help family members suffering Cameroon’s civil war. If that was the case, there’s probably a good chance he wasn’t told exactly how much was in the envelopes, leading to his under-report of the money.

In the second instance, the fact that the family was traveling together tells me that — as almost always happens in my client’s cash seizure cases — someone did not count all their money, or did not consider some part of money to be required to be reported (i.e., an adult daughter traveling with a few extra thousand dollars of her own, not thinking she needed to report her money as part of the group because she’s an adult). These situations can be messy; sometimes money should be reported, sometimes not; it ends up being the word of the violator against the word of the CBP officer who seized the cash.

In each case, though, once someone is boarding the plane and has not already voluntary made the report to CBP, a violation of the reporting requirements of 31 USC 5316 have already occurred. So whether the report was accurate or not is technically not important: by having to be prompted to report currency by a CBP officer while boarding a plane, you are as good as caught, because you obviously have the intention to not report the money in the small physical space between the ticket counter and the gangway.

Here’s the full story:

STERLING, Virginia — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized nearly $53,000 during two outbound currency examinations Thursday at Washington Dulles International Airport.
CBP is not releasing the travelers’ names because none were criminally charged.
While inspecting passengers boarding a flight to Belgium, CBP officers seized $35,688 from a Cameroon man who reported that he possessed $26,000. Officers discovered a combined $27,500 in six envelopes in a backpack, and an additional $7,500 in the man’s carry-on bag. Officers retained $34,000 and released $1,688 to the man for humanitarian purpose.
While inspecting passengers boarding a later flight to Turkey, CBP officers seized $17,122 from a U.S. family bound for Sudan. The family reported that they possessed $11,000. Officers retained $16,500 and released $621 to the family for humanitarian purpose.
In both cases, the passengers were released to continue their travel.
Travelers may carry as much currency as they wish into and out of the United States. Federal law requires that travelers must report all U.S. and foreign monetary instruments totaling $10,000 or greater on a U.S. Treasury Department financial form. None of the currency is taxed.
“Customs and Border Protection encourages travelers to be completely honest when reporting all their currency during an inspection with a CBP officer, or they may incur civil or criminal penalties,” said Casey Durst, CBP’s Field Operations Director in Baltimore. “CBP officers conduct outbound examinations to safeguard the revenue of the U.S., and to intercept potentially illicit proceeds that support transnational criminal organizations.”

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/dulles-cbp-seizes-53k-unreported-currency-two-departing-sets-travelers

CBP Seizes $170k from 7 Travelers at Dulles

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on August 14, 2018

Dulles CBP does it again, and again.. and again, again, again, and again, and… again. That is, they sezied almost $170,000 in cash at Dulles airport for not reporting cash to Customs before leaving the country.

The 7 cash seizures by Customs range over a 2 week period, from July 13 to August 1. Travelers were taking cash to Belgium, Ghana, Turkey, Qatar, and Serbia. In each case, the travelers were stopped by CBP before boarding their plan and incorrectly reported the amount of money they were traveling, when asked.

Note that, if you’re boarding your flight and you haven’t already made the report, even if you make an accurate report when stopped, you’ve already committed the violation of failure to report. Also, in these cases, not filing the report is only one of the potential charges; additionally, the money could be seized for bulk cash smuggling and structuring offenses, leading to a higher penalty. Worse yet, CBP can criminally indict any person for bulk cash smuggling, structuring, failing to report, and also making false statements to federal officials (i.e., reporting the wrong amount of money).

STERLING, Va., — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized $169,431 during seven recent violations of federal currency reporting laws at Washington Dulles International Airport.

It is not against the law to carry large amounts of currency in or out of the United States. Arriving or departing travelers may carry as much currency as they wish. However, federal law requires that travelers who possess $10,000 or more in currency or other monetary instruments must report it all to a CBP officer at the airport, seaport, or land border crossing where they enter or leave the country.

Consequences for violating U.S. currency reporting laws are severe; penalties may include seizure of most or all of the traveler’s currency, as illustrated by the following cases, and subjected to potential criminal charges.

CBP officers seized $21,735 from a Cameroon woman and son boarding a flight to Belgium August 1. The family reported $9,700. Officers discovered additional currency in envelopes in a carry-on bag. Officers released $735 to the family for humanitarian purposes and released the family.

CBP officers seized $30,721 from a U.S. man boarding a flight to Ghana July 30. The man verbally reported $9,000 then wrote down that he possessed $11,000. Officers discovered additional currency in white envelopes in a carry-on bag. Officers released $721 to the man for humanitarian purposes and released him.

CBP officers seized $26,177 from a U.S. family boarding a flight to Turkey July 29. The family reported $21,000. Officers discovered additional currency concealed inside children’s socks and in cell phone cases. Officers released $1,177 to the man for humanitarian purposes and released him.

CBP officers seized $34,585 from a U.S. man and his Ghanaian wife boarding a flight to Ghana July 23. The couple reported that they each possessed $10,000. Officers discovered additional currency during an inspection. Officers released $1,585 to the couple for humanitarian purposes and released them.

CBP officers seized $18,390 from a U.S. couple boarding a flight to Turkey July 21. The couple reported $9,090. Officers discovered additional currency in an envelope in a carry-on bag. Officers released $390 to the couple for humanitarian purposes and released them.

CBP officers seized $20,645 from a U.S. man and his Jordanian wife boarding a flight to Qatar July 19. The couple reported $14,020. Officers discovered additional currency in envelopes in the woman’s purse. Officers released $390 to the couple for humanitarian purposes and released them.

CBP officers seized $17,178 from a Kosovo woman boarding a flight to Serbia July 13. The woman reported $8,000. Officers discovered additional currency in luggage and carry-on bags. Officers released $1,578 to the woman for humanitarian purposes and released the family.

In each case, CBP officers read the federal reporting requirements to the travelers and solicited their understanding of the law. Officers afforded the travelers multiple opportunities to truthfully report all currency they possessed, both verbally and in writing.

“Customs and Border Protection outbound inspections protect against unreported exportations of bulk U.S. currency, which often can be proceeds from alleged illicit activity, or that fund transnational criminal organizations,” said Casey Durst, CBP’s Field Operations Director in Baltimore. “These currency seizures are a direct reflection of CBP’s continuing commitment to enforcing all U.S. laws, including federal currency reporting laws, at our nation’s international ports of entry.”

Dulles is one of the more aggressive ports when it comes to seizures, penalties, and criminal indictments. If you’ve had money seized by Customs, you should hire a lawyer.