MsArbi

Deleted.

seat17D

And it if is legit, it just makes it personal with the IRS.

And forever searchable in Google.

OPs story is consistent with my personal experience. LEOs like to toss out random tidbits of information to toss you off balance.

And they would have done some level of behind the scenes investigation before a visit.

The visit is not the first step. It is the last step in the first act.

thorax

What WM are you getting 10k at, cause I need to go there.

seat17D

Except, of course, there is nothing prohibiting an FI or governmental agency from filing the various paperwork for much smaller amounts.

Or for non-regulated transactions.

Or even by mistake.

Or <shudder> as retribution for some other unforgivable sin, namely being an unprofitable customer.

And so far as I know, there are really no practical penalties from falsely accusing someone of suspected ML.

Lobachevsky

They? Your original post was about ONE agent showing up. Frankly, I didn't believe that because, as I said, the Special Agents ALWAYS show up in pairs.

If it was a pair of agents, I've got no reason to doubt what you posted. I withdraw my comment.

seat17D

We need to get hats and handshakes. Really big hats.

Like Ralph Kramden had.

I'm ok with really simple handshakes, though. As I'm pretty clumsy and might hurt myself if the handshake got too elaborate.

vagrants

You don't understand MS is then. Nothing can be created from "thin air". In this game, there is always a loser(s). Just because you can't figure who's the loser(s) is doesn't mean there is no loser(s).

MileageGoblin

Ok, I owe you an apology for doubting your story. I apologize. I'm shocked (which I shouldn't have been) how the CID operates. Think of the time he took to go to your place as well as all the paper work. Government ineptitude at its finest.

Andy2

Look at it from their perspective.

Let's say the bank files a SAR stating that customer X deposits $8,000 a week of money orders into a bank account. Neither the bank nor the IRS knows whether those $8,000 of money orders were purchased with cash or with debit/prepaid cards.

If the IRS CID is scrolling through FinCen's database of SARs and notices that Customer X only reports wage income from a W-2 that would equate to $1,000 a week of taxable income, Customer X just might in the eyes of some be a guy that CID should run some reports on and pay a visit to. Customer X just might have a pretty lucrative cash business and he might have decided to buy money orders with his cash for deposit, since Customer X might have heard that making large cash deposits is not a good idea if he did not plan to report the profits from his lucrative side business, i.e., his meth lab.

These are the reasons I personally have never liked to have a lot of money order deposits into bank accounts. Even if CID is not involved, the standard approach the IRS uses on civil audit is to make the taxpayer produce all of his bank statements and explain the source of all deposits. It can be explained, but there is a hassle factor.

There are no perfect answers of how to do risk-free MSing. Personally, I think Bluebird type loading and unloading are a little bit less risky, and I think paying the credit card balances directly with money orders reduces the bank account dilemma a little bit, but everything has risk. There are just no perfect answers.

Mamibear

This, to me is MSing in a gist. No guarantees, this game is not for those averse to risks. It can be considered as playing OPM (other people's money) where we use CCC's money to earn miles/points/cashback.

smoothmunkey

Was wondering where you were on this thread, ADK. Welcome!

MasterCharge

i think this is not the case...

Andy2

I agree, especially since they did not ask to see the statements reflecting the debit card charges. While I doubt that the original poster will hear anything more from them, this represents a worrisome development. The IRS will be worried that all real money launderers will think they have to do to avoid further questions about deposits is to say "I have this mileage earning debit card ... "

We are one step closer to the Mint days in which the federal government realized it had created the problem itself and fixed it. Once the IRS requests that the banking folks change the rule that prepaid cards have pins, this is all over, especially now that so few real debit cards generate rewards. The rule was enacted to help small retailers reduce their credit/debit card fees by having their customers enter pins. We all know deep down that hardly ever happens. Anyone think that customers tear open those US Bank packages and write down the pins to help the retailers reduce costs? If the IRS feels it us expending resources on investigating non criminals, it will push for this change.

seat17D

I'm guessing they already had the debit card statements.

I know my visitors had already served subpoenas on my FIs and had copies of all sorts of statements before they came to visit.

They don't come seeking information so much as confirmation or contradiction. Again, IME. YLEOMV.

GetawaysRus

If Lois Lerner were an MSer, no doubt she would have taken the 5th. And then she would have gone back into her house and crashed her hard drive. That would have been a winning strategy for the OP.