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Reputation: 66

Possession of large amounts of us currency?

Wondering if anyone knows what, if any, potential criminal charges someone in possession of say 100k or so might be facing if pulled over and searched. I'm aware of civil asset forfeiture, wondering about federal criminal charges. Thanks

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  • Gold-head_small
    Reputation: 6000

    The $10,000 reporting limit applies to bank transactions and coming into the country (and going out, but only because you will simultaneously be going into another country). And it is a reporting requirement only; it's not illegal (though it will attract scrutiny).

    If you're just driving around in your car, or walking from the Baccarat table to your hotel room in Vegas, you're in the clear -- though you're also stupid to be holding that much cash. Put it in a bank. If you're paranoid put it in ten banks, or one bank ten times, $9,999 at a time (the extra tenner is for your cab ride). The person who I would be afraid of searching me in that case is not a cop but a bad guy who just found a guy with a hundred grand on him.

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  • Ozomahtli_small
    Reputation: 2398

    I think federal money laundering charges would be the biggest concern. Any thing over 10K needs a paper trail. At the very least, the cash could be seized and it would be thoroughly investigated.

    There have also been cases where cash is sniffed by dogs to establish a drug connection. Considering that most large bills in the US have cocaine residue on them, this is dubious evidence at best, but it has been held up in court. 

    Check out this case. I guess if you're going to do this, carefully obey all traffic laws, and don't have brown skin.

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  • C5d579be15d0cabd9fcdff538f017ca1_reasonably_small_small
    Reputation: -47

    Any bank transaction that involves amounts greater than $10,000 is subject to reporting to the authorities. So you would be reported upon withdrawing or depositing such a sum.

    But merely having such money...if legally acquired...not a crime.

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  • Dscf6268_for_web_small
    Reputation: 342

    This might depend on whether your legal ID says 'Randi Beever'.

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  • Froggyskull_3_small
    Reputation: 254

    Per my comment to Fnarf... Bailo and Fnarf are correct about large currency transactions being reported (those greater than $10,000 - an even $10,000 itself is below the threshhold, but $10,001 gets a report filed with the feds). But you don't want to do anything to avoid the report. If you do and it gets noticed (and it will be noticed - don't think it won't be), then another reported, called the Suspicious Activity Report (SAR), is filed with the feds.

    The purpose of these reports is to track possible money laundering. A one-time deposit of all that cash might raise eyebrows at the bank, but if you go to a high-traffic branch of a major bank, chances are someone there has seen it before and won't automatically believe you're doing something illegal. It'll help if you're well groomed; if you look like a tweaker, they may file a SAR anyway.

    You could, I suppose, go to a bunch of different banks, but they'd all have to be unique institutions. If you deposit at different branches of the same bank, the reports will find you out.

    As Bailo notes, there's nothing illegal about having that much cash, and nothing illegal about depositing it, as long as it was legally acquired. You probably won't get too much attention if you do this just one time, and never again. All the big banks see large cash deposits and withdrawals every day, and it's the pattern of repeatedly doing this, especially with no reasonable explanation for it, that's gets attention. BUT.... if I were you, I'd be ready to tell the truth about how I came into such a large sum, and have any supporting documentation ready to present. Because you never know.

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  • Rex_racer_small
    Reputation: 690

    Not illegal to possess, it's the reason / acquisition that will be in question and could lead to charges.
    WHY do you expect to be not only pulled over, but also SEARCHED? That's a pretty specific scenario.
    Also that's a hell of a First World Problem you got there -- I suppose your mansion garage is too small for your lamborgini collection, too. ;)

    If you're expecting TSA trouble at the airport, just fucking hide it: make a hundred dollar bill pair of underwear or shoes - 1000 hundred dollar bills only weighs 2.2 pounds or so. (based on the internet telling me that a million bucks in hundreds weighs 22 pounds).

    You know you can convert it to an expensive gem instead, and simply wear it - and then no questions. http://www.foxsgemshop.com/catalog/designer-jewelry/shopby/price-40000,250000.html

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