Tag: texas

CBP Money Seizure Techniques

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on February 3, 2016

U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), among its many missions and responsibilities, tries to stop the flow of illegal goods and dirty cash flowing across the borders. In past articles, we wrote about how CBP money seizure techniques target people who might be transporting more than $10,000. Read our piece about Targeted Enforcement for Customs Money Seizure.

But exactly how CBP chooses their targets is less well known. This television show Border Wars has an an episode on Youtube that shows some of the CBP money seizure techniques in use to identify certain people for inspection to verify the amount of cash they are carrying.

If more than $10,000 cash, or if the traveler’s story is suspicious, Customs can seize the cash.

Curiously, the narrator of this program says that for CBP to seize the money it must total more than $10,000. That’s not quite true, customs can also seize it if they feel it is connected to illegal activity under any number of criminal statutes.

In this case, however, the seizure was $65,000, so there was a failure to report (along with bulk cash smuggling) that resulted in seizure. To see the relevant parts, skip to 8:40, 18:30 and 25:00.

Have you been the victim of CBP money seizure techniques?

If Customs and Border Protection seized money from you, you can learn more from our trusted legal guide toa customs money seizure and can contact us for a free currency seizure consultation by clicking the contact buttons on this page.

Over $200,000 in cash laid out for presentation on a wooden table as part of the money seizure in Texas by CBP.

$200k Money Seizure in Texas by CBP

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on February 1, 2016

There was a money seizure in Texas by CBP (U.S. Customs & Border Protection) of more than $200,000,

reported last week. The cash was hidden in the body panels of the vehicle, where it was found by officers when Texas CBP was conducting outbound money seizure inspections. That is classic bulk cash smuggling.

Most of our client’s are not criminally charged as seems to have happened here, but only face civil forfeiture for failure to report, bulk cash smuggling, or structuring. In this case, even if the seized money came from a legitimate source and had a legitimate intended use, it will probably all be forfeited because of the money was concealed. Even in cases where legitimate source and intended use are proven, the money can still be permanently lost because hiding the money from CBP so as to avoid reporting it is a serious crime.

Here’s the Texas CBP money seizure story:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry seized a large amount of undeclared U.S. currency recently.

Shortly before 8 p.m., Jan. 22, CBP officers at Eagle Pass Bridge I inspected a southbound 2009 Pontiac G5 before it departed the United States bound for Mexico. Upon inspection, officers found several bundles of cash hidden in a body panel of the vehicle. Officers seized a total of $207,383.

The driver, a 37-year-old man from Humble, was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations for federal prosecution.

Had a money seizure in Texas by CBP?

If Customs and Border Protection seized money from you, 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.

U.S. Currency Seized by CBP Wrapped In Rubber Bands and Black Plastic on a Table

Unreported Bulk Cash of $112k Seized by CBP

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on December 9, 2015

Nearly $112,000 in unreported bulk cash was seized by U.S. Customs (CBP) officers from a U.S. citizen heading into Mexico last week. In its news releases CBP almost always calls the seized cash “unreported” or “undeclared” even when its apparently hidden for the purpose of evading the requirement to report more than $10,000 in cash to Customs. But this news release correctly calls it unreported bulk cash because it was was found “hidden within the vehicle.”

The seizure took place on Wednesday, Dec. 2, when CBP officers working at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge came in contact with a black 2007 Chevy Tahoe as it attempted to exit the United States into Mexico. The driver, a 25-year-old male United States citizen from Brownsville, Texas, was selected for a routine outbound inspection. CBP officers referred the vehicle to secondary for further inspection. During the examination, CBP officers utilized a non-intrusive imaging system and detected anomalies within the vehicle. A physical search of the Chevy Tahoe resulted in the discovery of multiple packages of bulk U.S. currency totaling $111,456 hidden within the vehicle.

This is classic unreported bulk cash smuggling laws, and as we explain in that article on the topic, means that even if legitimate intended source and use of the money are proven, a very high rate of forfeiture will apply; meaning that in the best case scenario the unreported bulk cash smuggler will get 50% of his money back from Customs, and at worst, 0%.

Unreported bulk cash consequences

In unreported bulk cash smuggling cases a person may face criminal charges, or may just face civil forfeiture and civil monetary penalties for the violation. If you have had unreported bulk cash seized by Customs, get your free currency seizure consultation.