Re: Legality of requiring credit cards?

[Brian Davis <bdavis@thepoint.net>]

On Tue, 24 Dec 1996, Dale Thorn wrote:

> Brian Davis wrote:
> > On Tue, 24 Dec 1996, Blake Coverett wrote:
> > > jonathon wrote:
> > > >     Go shopping with a wad of $100.00 bills.   Most stores don't
> > > >     accept them, regardless of the amount of purchase, without
> > > >     additional ID.
> 
> > > I bought a new PC a few months ago with just shy of $7K worth of
> > > $100 bills.  No one even blinked.
> 
> > Remember that if you go over 10K, the recipient is supposed to file a
> > form 8300 with the IRS ....
> 
> Make sure that, unless you don't mind the FBI putting an extra monitor
> on you, you don't *ever* transact $10k or more at one time, or on one
> purchase in smaller increments over a relatively short period of time.

Be especially carefully of structuring a $10,000+ transaction into 
smaller transactions in an attempt to circumvent the reporting 
requirements.  Doing so ("structuring a transaction") is a felony.

I was involved in reviewing a matter for possible prosecution in my 
former life.  Guy wins big football pool (season long) -- total of 
$27,000.  He calls an *leaves a message* that he wants 3 $9,000 checks.  
He gets them, goes to branch 1 of bank x and cashes one.  Then to branch 2 
and cashes another.  Then back to branch 1 for the third.

The bank, as required, filed a Report of Suspcious Transaction.  
Fortunately for him, the IRS-CID agents jumped the gun and alerted him to 
the investigation (by interviewing him) before he filed his taxes for 
that year.  He then knew enough to report the income and pay the taxes.

We settled the matter by having the money forfeited and having a civil 
monetary penalty assessment against him under the Bank Secrecy Act (the 
first such penalty against an individual ever).  He got credit on the 
civil assessment for the money forfeited, so all he lost was his $27,000 
in winnings.

Had he been better at it, he never would've been caught, IMNSHO.

EBD  


> I know this because one of our customers in Encino was tagged this way
> in 1983.  What was really hilarious was that they brought the equipment
> in for us to have a look at, since we were experts on HP proprietary
> gear and they weren't.  (Or we were a lot cheaper than HP corp.)
> 
>