Tag: customs airport cash seizure

Stacks of Money Seized at Houston Airport in front of a Homeland Security Seal

$40k Money Seized at Houston Airport by CBP

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on January 12, 2016

According to this story, about $40,000 in money seized at Houston Airport by Customs & Border Protection

(CBP) was on its way to Turkey.

This is the tale of a classic failure to report cash to customs, which also might have involved a language barrier (e.g., the reporter could have meant to say “forty-thousand” instead of “four-thousand” if English was the person’s second language). But, in our last post we noted that if Customs has to ask you to report money over $10,000 and you haven’t already filed a FinCen 105 form, you’ve already violated the law.

Here’s the money seizure storm from Houston airport CBP:

HOUSTON– U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Thursday seized more than $40,000 in unreported currency in an outbound enforcement action involving a departing air passenger bound for Turkey.

The [money seized at Houston airport] occurred on Thursday, Jan. 7 when CBP officers conducting outbound enforcement operations observed departing air passengers on a flight bound for Istanbul, Turkey and selected a 73-year-old male U.S. citizen passenger for a secondary inspection after a CBP canine alerted to his luggage. During the examination, the passenger declared $4,000 but subsequent examination by CBP officers revealed a total of $40,091 in unreported currency within his luggage. CBP officers seized the unreported currency.

Was your money seized at Houston airport?

If you’ve had money seized at Houston airport by CBP 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.

Picture of what the cash seized at Dulles airport looked similar to.

Cash seized at Dulles airport by CBP

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on December 29, 2015

A Chinese traveler had cash seized at Dulles airport, again, last week. This time it was $20,377, instead of $16,000 in cash seized by CBP there last week.

Dulles airport CBP seems to be on a roll. This story has the man reporting $10,000, but carrying $20,377 on his person and in his luggage. In addition to the failure to report, that failure to report combined with the presence of the money in the luggage could be the basis for an allegation of bulk cash smuggling.

Here’s the story about the cash seized at Dulles airport last week (as told by CBP):

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO), at Washington Dulles International Airport seized $20,377 Monday from a Chinese citizen for violating federal currency reporting regulations.

The man, who arrived on a flight from China, declared to CBP officers that he was carrying $10,000 and completed a financial form reporting the same. However; CBP officers discovered a total of $20,377 on his person and in his luggage. CBP officers seized the $20,377 and advised him how to petition for the return of the rest of the currency.

Always remember, legitimate source and legitimate use of the seized cash must be proven before Customs is legally required to consider returning the money. The types of documentation that is needed to prove this varies in every situation, and documentation should only be provided to CBP after

consultation with an attorney (here’s why). A customs lawyer will have a much better chance at getting your cash returned than doing it on your own.

If you’ve had cash seized at Dulles airport, or another airport, 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.

Money Seized at Detroit Airport for Bulk Cash Smuggling, Failure to report

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on August 12, 2014

A lady had money seized at Detroit airport by U.S. Customs & Border Protection (“CBP”) and the story made national news headlines. A lot of people have money seized at Detroit airport, so I’m not sure why this story generated such interest; in fact, many money seizure clients I’ve helped would make for more interesting news stories. I suspect that this story made the news because, I bet someone (herself or her attorney) chose not to file an administrative petition for remission but went the court-route, by filing a CAFRA seized asset claim.

Here is the full AP story (quoted below) which got the story about the money seized at Detroit airport from the Detroit News. This woman has the bad luck to have her story broadcast across country, but hers is not much different than many of the airport customs money seizures that take place everyday in Detroit, Chicago, and elsewhere.

ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) — A 78-year-old Florida woman tried to fly on an international trip from Detroit Metropolitan Airport with almost $41,000 in cash hidden inside her girdle, bra and carry-on bag, federal authorities said. A complaint filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Detroit said the Clearwater woman was trying to board a flight April 2 to the Philippines with her daughter.

She initially said she had $200 in cash but submitted a form declaring she had $1,200, prompting questions. During a search, Customs and Border Protection officers found $8,000 in wallets in her carry-on bag, $4,000 sewn into a cloth pouch and nearly $1,000 in envelopes, according to the complaint.

International Arrivals at DTW

She then told them she had $3,000 in her blouse and $2,000 sewn into the strap of her bra. Officers continued to search and said they found about $21,000 in her girdle. The woman told authorities that she had recently sold her home for $120,000, wired some money to the Philippines and had planned to carry a portion of the money with her. “She stated that she did not wire the proceeds to the Philippines this time because she thought it was safer to carry the money,” according to the complaint.

Federal law requires travelers to declare if they are carrying more than $10,000. The woman hasn’t been charged, but the government in the forfeiture complaint said it wants to keep the money. The Detroit News reported details of the request Friday. Federal court records don’t list a lawyer for the woman. The Associated Press left a message Saturday seeking comment from her at a telephone listing in Florida.

The Detroit news story identifies the woman as Victoria Farren and gets into the details a bit more by explaining that a lot of the money she was carrying was sewn into various articles of clothing like her bra strap, blouse, girdle, and a cloth pouch; these facts takes her case out of the realm of a mere failure to report monetary instruments or currency exceeding $10,000 and into the category of bulk cash smuggling (that is, active efforts to conceal the money), which can make it a lot harder to get the money back.

Have your money seized at Detroit airport?

If you’ve had money seized at Detroit airport, the Ambassador Bridge, or the Detroit-Windsor-Tunnel, you can learn more 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.