Tag: fy 2015

June 10th notice of seizure and intent to forfeit for a money seizure at Detroit Metro Airport

Money Seizure at Detroit Metro Airport in 6/10 Notice

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on June 14, 2016

In March 2015, U.S. Customs & Border Protection (Customs) seized $8,188 USD and $4,901.52 of Taiwanese New Dollar cash from a traveler at the Detroit Metro Airport. The seizure was for a simple failure to report cash to Customs (recall here that there is no limit on traveling into or out of the country with more than $10,000, but the money must be properly reported to CBP to avoid seizure).

Just this June 10th, CBP in Detroit published a notice of seizure and intent to forfeit the cash (valued at $13,098.62) for that same violation of law; presumably, the reason for the delay between the seizure over 15 months ago and the publication of the forfeiture notice is that either no one could prove the money was from a legitimate source and had a legitimate intended use, the person tried to do it themselves without a lawyer (and messed up), or had a lawyer who knew nothing about the process for getting back cash seized by Customs.

To anyone who considers getting back seized money without a lawyer, be forewarned: the process is complex and we have seen many attorneys lose cases that our firm could have won because they don’t know what they are doing. Just this past week, we’ve been undoing the mess of an immigration lawyer who (in my opinion) is about to be responsible for permanently losing around $12,000 for his clients who had a money seizure at Detroit Metro Airport last year.

This person might be in the same predicament; bad advice, or no advice. And as a consequence, good-bye money! Perhaps they’ll get smart and give us a call before they don’t even stand a chance of getting back a penny.

PUBLICATION/POSTING START: June 10, 2016
PUBLICATION/POSTING END: July 09, 2016
DEADLINE TO FILE A CLAIM: August 09, 2016

DETROIT, MI

2015380700055701-001-0000, Seized on 03/04/2015; At the port of DETROIT, MI; US CURRENCY RETAINED;
118; EA; Valued at $8,188.00; For violation of 31USC5317,31USC5316
2015380700055701-002-0000, Seized on 03/04/2015; At the port of DETROIT, MI; TAIWAN CURRENCY
RETAINED; 480; EA; Valued at $4,910.62; For violation of 21USC5317,31USC5316

Have you had a money seizure at Detroit Metro Airport?

If you experienced a money seizure at Detroit Metro Airport 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.

An April 22 notice of seizure and intent to forfeit cash seized at Boston Logan airport.

$14k Cash Seized at Boston Logan Airport

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on April 28, 2016

Back in September of 2015, $14,080 in cash was seized at Boston Logan Airport (BOS – port code 0417) by U.S. Customs & Border Protection. Seven months later, the seized cash is still languishing in the bank accounts of Customs because the interested people apparently failed to convince customs the money came from a legitimate source or had a legitimate intended use. That is why it is Boston CBP published a notice of seizure and intent to forfeit, to start and finalize the administrative forfeiture process (which does not involve a judge, unless a claim is filed requesting judicial forfeiture).

We have a great history of success in getting seized cash back from Customs and have successfully represented clients with a cash seizure at Boston Logan Airport. Don’t be foolish and try to get money back yourself, or hire an inexperienced lawyer to do it for you — you will get a bad result. A petition must not be an apology letter! This is why we recommend hiring a customs lawyer to get seized cash back from Customs.

PUBLICATION/POSTING START: April 22, 2016

PUBLICATION/POSTING END: May 21, 2016

DEADLINE TO FILE A CLAIM: June 21, 201

BOSTON, MA
2015041700014401-001-0000, Seized on 09/25/2015; At the port of LOGAN AIRPORT, CT; U.S. CURRENCY; 153;EA; Valued at $14,080.00; For violation of 31USC5316

Have you had cash seized at Boston Logan airport?

If you’ve had cash seized at Boston Logan airport, you can learn more from our trusted legal guide to a customs money seizure and can contact us for a free currency seizure consultation by clicking the contact buttons on this page. As we try to make clear on the free currency seizure materials on our website, the process is very complicated and CBP can be extremely adversarial and stubborn in their refusal to return your money to you after a seizure. There is reason for great caution whenever you are communicating with Customs after a seizure.

An April 22, 2016 notice of seizure and intent to forfeit cash by CBP Detroit.

Forfeiture Pending for $15,000 Seized at DTW

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on April 22, 2016

Here is today’s excerpt from Detroit CBP’s posting on forfeiture.gov — $15,000 seized for failure to failure to report at Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW – port code 3807).

The fact that $15,000 was seized by CBP in August 2015, and only 8 months later is the notice of seizure and intent to forfeit being published, tells me that someone tried unsuccessfully to get the money back by making an offer in compromise or an administrative petition. This is why we recommend hiring a customs lawyer to get seized cash back from Customs.

PUBLICATION/POSTING START: April 22, 2016

PUBLICATION/POSTING END: May 21, 2016

DEADLINE TO FILE A CLAIM: June 21, 2016

2015380700127501-001-0000, Seized on 08/16/2015; At the port of DETROIT, MI; U.S. CURRENCY RETAINED; 150; EA; Valued at $15,000.00; For violation of 31USC5317,31USC5316

Once a seizure case goes this far without a resolution administratively, a good outcome for a case such as this is getting any amount of money back, especially when the amount seized is only $15,000.

Has your petition or officer in compromise been denied by CBP in Detroit?

If your petition or offer in compromise has been denied by CBP in Detroit, you can learn more from our trusted legal guide to a customs money seizure 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.

Over $350k per day in cash seized by CBP in 2015

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on April 12, 2016

CBP tweeted the other day about cash seized by CBP in 2015, and drug seizures. On “a typical day,” CPP seized $356,396 in cash nationwide; based on the number for the Detroit field office, $27,581 was seized “on a typical day” in Detroit.

Because CBP Detroit was #2 in the nation for currency seizures based on total amount of seizures (totaling $10M), a large part of that national average is due to the efforts of CBP Officers at the ports in the Detroit Field Office, most especially the officers at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.

The cash seizures are from you run-of-the-mill everyday traveler who are bringing money to the United States for tuition, medical treatment, and to establish a new life; other times, the cash seizures are part of a cash smuggling operation bringing the money into or out of the United States to further the illicit narcotics trade across the borders.

On a typical day in FY15, #CBP seized 9,435lbs of drugs and $356,396 in undeclared or illicit currency. pic.twitter.com/NwRXBwoRZD

— CBP (@CustomsBorder) April 5, 2016

In Detroit, our experience is most of these cases are run-of-the-mill travelers coming into the United States with legitimate money that’s intended to be used for legitimate sources. With our experience and good documentation, we are help to get cash back from Customs after seizure.

The lesson? Prevent seizure of cash by reporting all currency, fully, accurately, and completely to U.S. Customs & Border Protection before they have a chance to stop and question you about it. Don’t be like the poor folks who had their cash seized by CBP in 2015, be sure to report your money. Remember, the duty it yours to report the transportation of more than $10,000 into or out of the country before you are ever asked to make a report!

$5.9M in Undeclared Currency Seized in Texas

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on March 15, 2016

CBP operates on a fiscal year that runs from October 1 to September 30. For fiscal year 2015, CBP in Laredo Texas field office reported some impressive seizure figures. Most impressive for our purposes here the amount of undeclared currency seized by CBP Texas — $5.9 million dollars.

This story continues a series of stories we recently published about CBP’s annual currency seizure statistics both nationally, in the souther border states, and in the Detroit field office.

This undeclared currency seized figure, and figures for other seizures by CBP, are in story below:

During FY 2015, CBP officers at eight ports of entry extending from Brownsville to Del Rio that comprise the Laredo Field Office seized 164,418 pounds of narcotics that carried a combined estimated street value of $172 million. This represents a 49 percent increase over the total amount of drugs seized in FY 2014. Specifically, they seized 152,891 pounds of marijuana, up a whopping 54 percent over FY 2014; 5,519 pounds of cocaine; 5,005 pounds of methamphetamine, up 36 percent from FY 2014; 1,003 pounds of heroin, up 31 percent from FY 2014, $5.9 million in undeclared currency, 32 firearms and 7,372 rounds of ammunition.

South Texas CBP officers in FY 2015 determined that a total of 52,809 non-U.S. citizens were inadmissible to the U.S. due to violations of immigration law, a 33 percent increase over FY 2014.

Have you had undeclared currency seized by CBP?

The process of getting undeclared currency seized by CBP back is long and complicated; most importantly, legitimate source and intended use must be proven. If Border Patrol seized cash from you, 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.

A chart showing Detroit Customs seized cash from 540 travelers in 2015

Detroit Customs Seized Cash from 540 Travelers in FY 2015

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on March 3, 2016

Detroit Customs seized cash from 540 travelers in fiscal year 2015 and racked up a second-best-in-the-nation finish for total amount of currency seized of $10,067,095 ($10 million). The full report is here. The

total amount of people passing through the ports of administered by the Detroit field office was 15,813,555.

We don’t have exact statistics handy, but according to a 2013 story it seems the $10 million in cash seized from travelers this year is among the best years for Detroit in terms of cash seizures. The impressive figure means that the Detroit office of U.S. Customs & Border Protection seized more cash from travelers than either of Texas, California, New Mexico and Arizona, even though those states are often in the news for high value currency seizures (often connected with the illegal drug trade).

During fiscal year 2015, the Detroit Field Office which includes the Ambassador Bridge, Detroit Windsor Tunnel, the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron and the International Bridge in Sault. Ste. Marie, processed over 2.3 million commercial trucks, representing 21 percent of all the international truck traffic across land borders into the United States. Canada continues to be the number one trading partner with a total of $101 billion dollars in trade coming through the Detroit Field Office alone.

[ . . . ]

On the enforcement front, the Detroit Field Office had the second highest seizures in unreported currency across the nation with over $10 million seized from travelers who refused to properly report the amount of currency they were carrying. There were 961 arrests, 72 firearms seized and 588 narcotics and drug seizures.

Great work, CBP Detroit!

Has Detroit customs seized cash from you?

If Detroit customs seized cash from you, 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.

CBP Seized Cash From Travelers in 2015

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on March 1, 2016

U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) seized cash from travelers in lower numbers in 2015 compared to 2014. In its Border Security Report (which can be read in HERE), CBP says it “seized more than $129 million in unreported currency through targeted enforcement operations.” “Targeted enforcement operations” is just a fancy way of saying that they seized cash from travelers at a border crossing at an airport.

What is noteworthy is that CBP cash seizures from travelers is way down from last year – by about 54%. In 2014, the total amount of cash seized from travelers was $237 million. It breaks down the number for four southwest states:

Arizona = $2,102,688 (way down from $3,475,523 last year)
Texas = $9,171,935 (slightly up from $7,732,830 last year)
New Mexico = $975,880 (slightly up from $969,830 last year)
California = $7,739,869 (way down from $12,908,976 last year)

In 2013, CBP seized cash from travelers in the amount of about $106 million. So the numbers are less than last year’s staggering numbers — by a lot, but more in line with the totals from the year before last. It will be interesting to see what 2016 holds travelers who get their cash taken by CBP. We will not now until the beginning of CBP’s fiscal year, which starts on October 1, 2016.

We should also note that these numbers very likely include not only money seized for “unreported currency” but also for currency that was structured or part of a bulk cash smuggling offense.

CBP seized cash from travelers like you!

If CBP seized cash from travelers like you, 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.

Port of Buffalo, N.Y. border crossing check point where cbp seized cash for currency reporting violations.

Buffalo CBP Seized Cash for Currency Reporting Violations in 2015

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on February 16, 2016

Last year, we reported that CBP at the port of Buffalo “seized $267,323 in a total of 22 currency seizures”. This year, CBP makes a similar report this year which shows that CBP seized cash for currency reporting violations and the total is nearly a half-million dollars.

What’s the take away? Never make a failure to report cash to CBP Buffalo, never smuggle bulk cash, and never divide money to avoid the reporting requirement. Here’s excerpt from the Buffalo CBP story:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees from the Buffalo Field Office, Office of Field Operations, had a successful fiscal year in 2015, which began October 1, 2014, and ended September 30, 2015. The Buffalo Field Office made over 380 narcotic seizures, over 400 arrests and seized more than $450,000 in unreported currency.

Last year there were 22 cash seizures in Buffalo, for an average cash seizure amount of just over $12,000. This year, there were 23 seizures and the average amount of seized cash by CBP in Buffalo was $19,579. That probably means that people were, on average, carrying more cash than in 2014.

The best way to hang on to your cash is to report it to Customs. When in doubt, report. Travelers make lots of unnecessary problem for themselves by attempting to get around the reporting requirement. Educate yourself before traveling with cash into or out of the United States and the chances of a cash seizure will be significantly lessened as long as you’re not an otherwise suspicious individual.

Has CBP seized cash for currency reporting violations from you?

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 free currency seizure consultation by clicking the contact buttons on this page.

U.S. Customs Confiscates $50k in Cash at Texas Airports

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on November 17, 2015

Customs officers confiscated a total of nearly $50,000 from international travelers at Texas airports in the last few weeks alone. Specifically, the cash seizure by customs was at San Antonio International Airport and at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The first story involves $16,000 of currency that sounds like it was structured by an adult father and daughter traveling together in order to evade the reporting requirement. The story finishes by stating that in the last fiscal year (ending October 31), CBP seized more than $81,496,161 ($81.5 million!) in undeclared or illicit currency.

San Antonio International Airport discovered a pair of travelers carrying over $16,000 in unreported currency.

On Nov. 3, CBP officers working at the San Antonio International Airport discovered a pair of travelers carrying over $16,000 in unreported currency. The travelers, who are citizens of Mexico and traveling together, arrived separately to CBP for processing and each reported they were traveling alone.

Both who claimed to be traveling alone and reported carrying less than $10,000. However when question furthered, the travelers, a father, 53 and his daughter 27 admitted that they were in fact traveling together. The amount of currency discovered among their belongings added up to $16,000. The currency was seized for failure to properly report currency in an aggregate amount exceeding $10,000.

The second story involves a single traveler leaving for Argentina who reported only having $9,000, but really had more than $33,000 (tsk tsk). In addition, the money was not in a single location but was in “several envelopes stashed among his belongings.” The fact that it was stashed may give rise to bulk cash smuggling as a second ground for seizure beyond the failure to report.

Three days later at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport CBP officers seized currency from a traveler who was departing the United States head to Argentina. The passenger reported $9,000 in his possession, however when CBP officers completed the currency verification, more than $33,400 was discovered. The cash was found in several envelopes stashed among his belongings. CBP seized the currency.

The cash was found in several envelopes stashed among his belongings. CBP seized the currency.

International travelers with negotiable monetary instruments valued at $10,000 or greater in their possession must complete a form FinCEN 105, Report of International Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments according to U.S. law. Negotiable monetary instruments include currency, personal checks that have been endorsed, travelers’ checks, gold coins, securities or stocks in bearer form.

4 Houston CBP Airport Currency Seizures; Detroit CBP Leads

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on July 21, 2015

They say everything is bigger in Texas, but apparently not customs airport currency seizures effected by U.S. Customs & Border Protection. Houston CBP reports around $2.4 million seized from arriving travelers for FY 2015 thus far; an impressive sum, but not quite as impressive as Detroit’s $8 million for the same time period. It is more than CBP in Houston seized last year.

These seizures in Houston include seizures at airports in Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. The story gives the details on some recent seizures which occurred at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Those stories are re-told below in the full story:

CBP officers effected the first of four recent seizures July 5 when a husband and wife enroute to Dubai reported carrying $10,000 as a family. After CBP officers explained the currency requirements, the couple signed the FinCen form. Final currency verification indicated the travelers were in fact carrying $15,433, which CBP officers seized.

Currency is seized for failure to properly report currency in an aggregate amount exceeding $10,000.

July 7, officers seized more than $27,000 after a U.S. couple traveling to Iran reported on FinCen Form 105 to having a combined $10,000 in their possession. After officers completed the currency verification, they seized $27,431.

The next day, CBP officers encountered a U.S. citizen and his wife who were enroute to Pakistan. The couple reported they were transporting $9,500; however more than $23,800 was seized after officers completed the currency verification.

The final seizure of the week occurred July 9 when officers seized $22,900 from a couple enroute to India. The couple reported $17,000 in the possession, however when officers completed verifying their currency, it totaled $22,900.

In all four instances, the currency was seized for failure to properly report currency in an aggregate amount exceeding $10,000.

The story also says that across the nation, on a typical day, CBP officers seized more than $650,117 from people entering and exiting the United States.

If you have had currency seized from Customs do not try to respond yourself but hire our firm, because we know what we are doing and have successfully handled many cases like yours. If you have questions, please give us a call at (734) 855-4999. 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. Please read these other articles: