Tag: cash seizure

$3 million in cash bundled after a customs cash seizure

CBP Agents Seize $3 Million in St. Thomas

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

CBP agents in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, seized more than $3 million dollars and arrested the men involved. The story shares some interesting details, like the fact that the boat was equipped with 5 fuel tanks (so that the smugglers could spend more time at sea, if necessary) and that the duffle bag a GPS tracker in it (so that, if thrown overbaord, it could be more easily traced).

Here’s the story (originally here), with some noteworthy details in bold:

ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands – U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations (AMO) agents intercepted a vessel with three men onboard entering Brewers Bay transporting more than $3 million inside duffel bags.

* * *

During the evening of April 22, Marine Interdiction agents (MIA) on patrol on a Interceptor vessel near the entrance to Brewer’s Bay, noticed a vessel approaching without its navigation lights illuminated.

The MIA’s initiated a stop of the vessel by engaging the blue lights. In response, the three occupants of the vessel began throwing duffel bags overboard before coming to a stop.

After the MIA’s boarded the vessel and detained the three occupants, . . . the agents recovered three duffel bags from the water that had been thrown overboard. A fourth duffel bag was discovered on the vessel. Agents estimate that the bags collectively contained at least $3 million dollars. One of the duffel bags was equipped with a GPS tracker. The vessel, which is registered in Puerto Rico, was outfitted with five fuel tanks.

Image of $221,319 in cash seized by U.S. Customs & Border Protection in Roma, Texas.

CBP Seizes $221,319 Cash at Falcon Dam, Texas

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

CBP officers in Texas confiscated $221,319 from the passengers of a vehicle heading to Mexico. The story from CBP explains the seizure happened the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, when CBP stopped a vehicle drive by a 41 year old male outbound to Mexico.

The headline and the story itself indicate that the money was simply undeclared; however, the details of the incident describe the money was hidden in eight bundles within the vehicle.

Here’s the full story:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations officers at the Falcon Dam Port of Entry recently seized over $200,000 in unreported currency hidden within a passenger vehicle during an outbound examination, Aug. 31.

“Our frontline CBP officers continue to maintain resolute vigilance in both the inbound and outbound environments and their attention to detail helped to detect a significant load of unreported currency,” said Port Director Andres Guerra, Roma/Falcon Dam Port of Entry. “Large outbound currency seizures like this deny the ability of transnational criminal organizations to profit from alleged illicit activity, impacting them directly.”

The seizure occurred on Aug. 31 at Falcon Dam Port of Entry when a CBP officer conducting outbound examinations selected a 2012 Nissan Maxima driven by a 41-year-old male Lawful Permanent Resident for examination. After initial inspection, CBP officers conducted an intensive physical examination and discovered eight bundles containing a total of $221,319 in unreported currency hidden within the vehicle.

CBP officers seized the currency and arrested the driver. The case was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) special agents for further investigation.

It is not a crime to carry more than $10,000, but it is a federal offense not to declare currency or monetary instruments totaling $10,000 or more to a CBP officer upon entry or exit from the U.S. or to conceal it with intent to evade reporting requirements. Failure to declare may result in seizure of the currency and/or arrest. An individual may petition for the return of currency seized by CBP officers, but the petitioner must prove that the source and intended use of the currency was legitimate.

Have you had money seized by CBP in Texas?

If CBP in Texas has 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.

About $96,000 seized by CBP in Arizona laid out on table

CBP Officers Seize Cash in Nogales

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

Here’s a CBP money seizure story that first popped up in May in one of CBP’s news releases, but it’s worth going over again because it resulted in an arrest and seizure of $96,000.

TUCSON, Ariz. –U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Arizona’s Port of Nogales arrested two Mexican nationals & a U.S. citizen involved in connection with a pair of separate failed smuggling attempts over the past weekend.  

Friday evening, officers at the Mariposa Crossing referred performing outbound operations a 26-year-old Mexican male and his 28-year-old U.S. citizen passenger for further inspection of his Ford sedan. A search of the vehicle, led to the discovery of two large bundles of unreported U.S. currency that were hidden within the car’s rear seats. The packages contained nearly $96,000.

Officers seized the drugs and currency, as well as both vehicles. The subjects were all arrested and then turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Has CBP seized your cash?

If CBP has 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.

Summer CBP Cash Seizure News Roundup

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

It’s been a busy summer for customs and trade law attorneys. Enforcement by U.S. Customs & Border Protection has been up across the board. There’s been some news releases by CBP, but many I haven’t had time to post here and provide the usual analysis. Instead of letting them all out over the next few weeks, to catch myself I am just going to do a cash seizure news roundup of stories that I did not get to this summer.

Hold on tight, here we go:

CBP seizes $1.6 Million inside Propane Gas Tank

On May 23, U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Juan requested assistance from a CBP Air and Marine Operations (AMO) Marine Patrol Unit for a reported disabled vessel.   A CBP marine unit found a vessel dead in the water 16 miles southwest of Cabo Rojo, with two men from the Dominican Republic on-board.

The vessel and its occupants were navigating to to Santo Domingo from the British Virgin Islands, when the vessel’s engine failed.

The boat was for an inspection by CBP. A CBP canine alerted to the presence of a familiar odor from a large propane gas tank.  Inside the tank the CBPO, AMO agent and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agents discovered large sums of U.S. currency. 

The undeclared currency totaled $1,638,700. CBP seized the currency under failure to declare and bulk cash smuggling laws.

See the full story here.

$3.7 Million Abandoned Cash Seized in Puerto Rico

In July, CBP patroling waters around Puerto Rico “detected a vessel navigating without lights” towards the U.S. Virgin Islands. [ . . . ] The vessel abruptly turned around [and landed] landing the vessel . . . [CBP and other federal agency agents] pursued the vessel and its occupants, who were seen unloading duffle bags from the vessel, immediately abandoning their cargo and absconding. The agents found five abandoned duffle bags containing bulk US currency. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agents, along with agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), seized Sunday $3.7 million in undeclared currency found inside five duffle bags on board an abandoned vessel near the coast of Fajardo. The undeclared currency totaled $3,700,000. CBP seized the currency under failure to declare and bulk cash smuggling laws. See the full story here. 

$372k in Beach Duffle Bag Seized in St. Thomas (USVI)

In July [CBP agents] “received a call a concerned citizen about a suspicious boat, making landfall in Bordeaux Bay, St. Thomas. The caller stated that three men were onboard and intentionally beached a 20ft Boston Whaler. The [agents] responded by vehicle to the area and noticed a single duffel bag still sitting in the sand near the boat with a Puerto Rico registration. Agents conducted a sweep of the area but were unable to locate any of the suspects. Inside the duffel bag, agents found an undetermined amount of cash in vacuum-sealed packages.  The undeclared currency totaled $372,000.  U.S. Homeland Security Investigations assumed custody of the seized currency and investigation.

See the full story here.   

Agents Seize Over $100k in Bulk Cash

On May 20, CBP agents conducted a vehicle stop on a 2007 Silver Honda Element traveling westbound on Interstate 8, near Sunrise Highway.

After a brief interview, agents determined that a 33-year-old male driver and his 28-year-old female passenger were Mexican citizens with the proper paperwork to enter and work in the United States.  However, during a Border Patrol canine detection search, the canine alerted to the interior of the vehicle. 

Agents discovered 53 bundles of cash totaling $102,998, hidden in a space around the gear selector and behind the speakers of the vehicle. Agents placed the man and woman under arrest and they will be held pending criminal proceedings.

See the full story here.

$100,00 seized near Blythe, California

[A]gents conducted a vehicle stop on a four-door sedan traveling eastbound on Interstate 10. Agents requested, and were granted consent, to search the vehicle after the driver, a male 23-year-old United States citizen, admitted to having drug paraphernalia. During the search, agents located a trash bag containing $96,565 in cash concealed in the rear compartment of the vehicle. Additional evidence was discovered in the vehicle linking the money to drug smuggling activities. The driver claimed that the cash did not belong to him and it was seized by agents.

See the full story here.

 

$1 million dollars stacked on table seized by U.S. Customs & Border Protection

CBP Seizes $1 Million in Cash at Laredo

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

The government shut-down prevented CBP from releasing news stories about the cash seizure and customs enforcement activity. Now that the shutdown is over (for now), we have a new story from CBP in Laredo.

In this case, as so often is the case in the cash seizures that occur along the U.S.-Mexico border, this story has the feel of the movement of cash in facilitation of the illegal drug trade.

Isn’t there something suspicious about a 20 year-old woman driving a 9 year old car that has 53 bundles of cash in it? Yes, absolutely; it’s improbably. In this case, officers had more to go on than just their own suspicions, because the money was not reported.

Not only was there a failure to report cash to Customs, but the money was likely smuggled (i.e., hidden) because the story implies that to find the cash officers had to use a imaging system scan and an intensive examination (this usually means they ripped off body panels and parts of the vehicle to locate the cash).

LAREDO, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers Juarez-Lincoln Bridge recently seized nearly $1 million in unreported currency hidden within a passenger vehicle during an outbound examination.

The seizure occurred on Friday, Jan. 25 at Juarez-Lincoln Bridge when a CBP officer conducting outbound examinations selected a 2010 Nissan Maxima driven by a 20-year-old female U.S. citizen for examination. After initial inspection utilizing a non-intrusive imaging systems scan, CBP officers conducted an intensive physical examination and discovered 53 bundles containing a total of $988,550 in unreported currency hidden within the vehicle. 

CBP officers seized the currency and arrested the driver.  The case was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) special agents for further investigation.

Has Laredo CBP seized your cash?

If CBP in Laredo has 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 San Juan Seizes $844,000 Smuggled in TVs

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

This year, United States Customs & Border Protection officers in San Juan, Puerto Rico, made a staggering cash seizure of $844,000 that being exported from the Puerto Rico (a territory, therefore, within the customs territory of the United States).

Though the story is lacking in many details, it appears the vehicle was being exported from Puerto Rico to destinations unknown, when Customs officers became suspicious about it for some reason. They pulled the vehicle aside for closer examination, and discovered 16 smart TV boxes.

After imaging the boxes, they opened them up and “bundles containing US currency appeared.” That’s how the story puts it (was the cash hidden inside the boxes like a jack-in-the-box?).

Otherwise, the story – though published through another media outlet and available for reading here — appears to hew closely to the standard CBP news release narrative, including a disclaimer that it is OK for travelings to carry more than $10,000 into or out of the country, but it must be reported. This is confusing, especially because the story makes no factual assertion that the money was carried by a traveler.

 

Trucks line up for inspection at Peace Bridge Port of Entry, Buffalo, N.Y.

CBP Buffalo Seizes $144,733 Cash

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

During fiscal year 2017, CBP in Buffalo reports they seized cash from a total of 10 people, and a total amongst those 10 of $144,733. I didn’t have any clients among those 10 last year, but I have handled cash seizure cases in Buffalo in the past.

In years past, we’ve commented on the annual fiscal year report from CBP in Buffalo.

  • FY 2015: CBP Buffalo seized $267,323 in a total of 22 currency seizures;
  • FY 2014: CBP Buffalo seized over $450,000 in a total of 23 currency seizures;

Here’s the breakdown of all Enforcement and Traffic incidents at the Port of Buffalo from October 2016 through October 2017:

Enforcement Statistics Traffic Statistics
Narcotic Seizures

640

 Port of Entry

Personal Vehicles

Trucks
Arrests

507
Currency Seizures

10 Totaling: $144,733

 Buffalo

4,814,967

960,791
Merchandise Seizures

1,564 Totaling: $2,133,393

 Champlain

1,004,351

309,327
Inadmissibles

11,340

 Trout River

149,279

16,586
Agriculture Pest Interceptions

1,374

 Alex Bay

594,002

204,264
Trade Seizures

1,331 Totaling:

$1,712,599 DV

Massena

855,787

27,256
Intellectual Property Rights Seizures

1,230 Totaling:

$1,576,944 DV

Ogdensburg

292,808

39,283
Note: DV refers to domestic value

Have you cash seized by CBP in Buffalo?

If Buffalo CBP seized cash from you can learn more about the process from our trusted customs money seizure legal guide and can contact us for a currency seizure consultation by clicking the contact buttons on this page.

Dulles Airport CBP Took Cash from Husband and Wife

Dulles Airport CBP Seizes $25k from Bosnia and Herzegovina-bound travelers

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

Cash seizures at airports have spiked in Detroit, and also apparently in other regions, such as Dulles airport. As a case in point, here is yet another story about CBP seizing cash from a traveler at the airport in Sterling, Virginia: Washington Dulles International Airport.

Here is the full story (original here):

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized more than $25,000 Wednesday from travelers departing Washington Dulles International Airport for violating federal currency reporting regulations.A Bosnia and Herzegovina-bound family reported to CBP officers that they possessed $9,000. The father then signed a U.S. Treasury form reporting they possessed $15,000.A CBP inspection discovered a total of $19,754 in U.S. dollars and 5,085 Euros, combined equivalent to $25,616 in U.S. dollars, in possession of the three-person family.

CBP officers seized the currency and returned 985 Euros ($1,135 U.S. dollar equivalent) to the family for humanitarian purposes.  No charges were filed.  Officers released the family to continue their travel.

And here is what CBP Dulles is saying about the up-tick in airport currency seizures on their watch:

This is CBP’s third outbound currency seizure in two weeks at Dulles.  CBP officers seized $29,698 from a Qatar-bound family July 9 and $18,900 from a Ghana-bound man July 11. Read more about those unreported currency seizures.

“These continued currency seizures clearly illustrate the consequences of travelers not making truthful declarations to Customs and Border Protection officers,” said Wayne Biondi, CBP Port Director for the Area Port of Washington Dulles.  “The best way to keep all of your currency is to honestly report it all to Customs and Border Protection officers during inspection.”

They go on to get the reporting requirement, wrong, again (hint: it is more than $10,000, not $10,000 or

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.

 

It is also true that none of the money is taxed, at least by Customs. If it is considered “income,” it may be taxable. But if you’ve already paid income taxes on the money, then it is definitely not taxable again by the IRS.

Has CBP seized your cash at the airport?

If CBP seized your cash at the airport, read our trusted customs money seizure legal guide and contact our customs lawyer for a free cash seizure consultation by clicking the contact buttons on this page.

9 bundles of United States currency

Detroit cash seizures up in FY 2017

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

CBP has organized itself around a fiscal year that is different from the calendar year; every October 1 begins the government’s new “fiscal year”, and so too, begins CBP’s tracking of seizure activity at its various ports of entry. In years’ past, we have reported, in particular, on Detroit’s fiscal year seizure activity. For example, in 2015 CBP in Detroit had an exceptional cash seizure year during their fiscal year 2015, seizing more than $10 million from 540 people (roughly $838,924.58 per month). After that news was published, I was anxious to see what happened in 2016; but alas, not cash seizure summary for Detroit was ever published.

But, we do have some preliminary indications that 2017 will be a ‘good year’ for CBP in terms of cash seizure. Probably not so good for travelers, though. Here is the excerpt from the CBP story:

So far this fiscal year which began October 1, ports within the Detroit Field Office have seized more than $4.4 million dollars, an 8 percent increase over the same time frame last fiscal year.

To further break this apart, if $4.4 million is over a 7 month period, then it is $628,571.42 per month, or a decrease of more than $210,000 from FY 2015. We shall see what the future holds for FY 2017. In my spare time (ha ha), I will reach out to Detroit to see where I can get my hands on the totals for 2016.

Bulk cash hidden in the vehicle panels seized by U.S. Customs & Border Protection

CBP Seizes Money Going into Mexico

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

20 stacks of new U.S. currency seized by U.S. Customs & Border Protection for smuggling and failure to report cash to customs
CBP in Lukeville Arizona seized $38,000 of concealed currency heading into Mexico.

Here’s a quick story about a money seizure that happened when someone was going into Mexico earlier this week.CBP seized almost $40k in cash that was hidden in the interior panel of a van in Lukeville, Arizona. The driver was a 31 year old Mexican man. Here’s the brief story:

TUCSON, Ariz. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers conducting outbound inspections at Arizona’s Port of Lukeville arrested a 31-year-old Mexican man Saturday after finding $38,000 of unreported U.S. currency concealed in a quarter panel of his Ford van.

Officers seized the money and vehicle, and turned the driver over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Every once in a while a seizure like this is not connected to the drug trade. I’ve represented people who’ve had cash seized crossing the border with Mexico who hid it in the vehicle just to keep it safe. In a case like this, even if the money came from a legitimate source and had a legitimate intended use the person involved is still responsible for a bulk cash smuggling violation. The consequences of that include forfeiture (permanent loss) of all the money, fines, and jail time. The best case scenario would be no criminal charges, and a return of most of the money.

Have you had money seized going into Mexico?

If you had money seized by U.S. Customs & Border Protection going into Mexico you can learn more about the process from 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.