GeneCMH

That's actually a good idea - thanks

Guess I forgot you can now make deposit in other states at the same bank. Though, wouldn't there still be some kind of red flags from a sizeable deposit? I suppose I could come out on several visits over the course of a few months to keep each deposit under the radar.

NNH

Multiple cash deposits might be more likely to raise the bank's suspicions. On past occasions when I've sold a car for cash, I've basically used the cash as spending money for however many months it takes to use it all. Of course, with this being FT and all, I have to warn you that means you'd be losing all those lovely credit card miles

Deeg

I'm only speaking from my experience. I'm sure there have been situations where authority has been misused. But, as a matter of law, the burden of proof remains upon the government to prove that the money is subject to seizure.

peachfront

I must assume that you do not have any experience dealing with forfeiture law. Money is not entitled to a presumption of innocence. You do not have to ever be charged with any crime to forfeit the cash.

As for the person who thinks they are safer driving across the country with the cash, don't make me laugh. I personally know of several people who have had the cash seized at a traffic stop. I know of one person who had his cash seized at the airport -- and he was able to get most of it back after proving the source of the cash. Some small towns have no real source of revenue other than traffic stops.

Do not carry cash for other persons. Maybe this elderly person is just a sweet old lady who saved under the mattress her whole life. Or maybe you are being used as a mule. I would not carry the cash in this circumstance.

peachfront

Making smaller deposits over time to avoid the cash reporting requirement is a felony offense caused structuring. You are asking us how to give you advice on how to get away with a criminal offense. Knock it off. You must deposit all of the cash at one time and file the proper report. That is the law. It has been the law since the 1980s. If you structure your transactions, you are a money launderer and perhaps you will soon be a felon. IMHO this thread should be closed if you continue to ask for advice in breaking the law. As for the elderly relative using you as a mule to get the money into the bank, that sweet old person is equally guilty of the criminal offense that they have solicited you to commit. And they probably know it too but imagine they will be able to hide behind you if the law ever comes knocking on your door.

SylviaCaras

In NYC, I was once reimbursed for travel, several thousand dollars, in cash. I didn't want to travel with it back to California. I didn't even want to walk around Manhattan with it, back to my hotel. The only account I had with a New York City branch was Fidelity; they don't accept cash deposits. I went to American Express, paid off my credit card, bought Travelers' Checks with the rest.

Does cash show up as cash on the carry-on Xrays?

Sylvia

exerda

It's sad, though, that people could be made into criminals when not doing anything with criminal intent (or, for that matter, otherwise connected to crime). Yet another casualty of the "war on drugs," I guess.

Deeg

Actually, I do. But I do the seizing, not the legal wrangling afterwards. Therefore, I only have to worry about probable cause.

I'm no lawyer. But, if we're talking about civil forfeiture, wouldn't 18 USC 983(c) apply? This section was changed in the year 2000 to place the burden of proof upon the Government. In relevant part, it reads:

If we're talking about criminal forfeiture, then a criminal conviction is required.

bocastephen

Personally, I think these money laundering laws and reporting requirements are nonsensical. It's not of the government's business what we do with our cash. If they think we're involved in criminal activity, let them catch us in the act of committing a criminal offense.

Beyond that, bud out of my business.

pynchonesque

Filing SARs on people/businesses is a popular method for rival "organizations" to lob missiles at one another. Really.

As for forfeiture, remember that civil, not criminal, procedure applies; civil forfeiture is so powerful because no criminal charges need ever be brought.

As for carrying cash, I recommend you investigate investment-grade jewelry, or any other physical good that can easily be sold or bartered.

peachfront

If you do the seizing, then you already know the answer and you also know that what you are telling people is untrue.

Look, the OP is either a dupe of a money launderer or he's asking us how to launder money. He's a bad guy. I don't blame you for giving the answers you have given. But they are not accurate.

You know and I know that no criminal conviction, or even an arrest of a person, is required for the money to be seized. Much less probable cause. I've known people to have their money stolen at traffic stops for speeding and that great southern classic, the broken taillight.

Virtually all U.S. currency is contaminated with trace elements of cocaine. Therefore all U.S. currency has "probable cause" that it was involved in a crime somewhere down the line.

peachfront

What you personally think is not very useful. In an ideal world, things would be different. We don't live in an ideal world.

timstravel

But we are supposed to be living in a free country. <sigh>

Doppy

Wow, the accusations are really flying here. There's nothing illegal about him safekeeping someone else's money, nor is there a requirement that he file any report to do so. (There is a requirement that the bank file a report if he deposits more than $10,000 or appears to be structuring, but that's different.)

Why not? It's a democracy; why can't he advocate for a change in the law? Do you get some kind of commission every time a CTR or SAR is filled out or something?

Deeg

As I said in my very first post on the subject...perhaps you are correct under some state's laws. I don't know. But for seizures under federal law, that is wrong. I don't know how to make it any clearer.

(The bit about no criminal conviction is correct. There are two types of forfeiture: civil and criminal. The latter requires a conviction, the former does not.)