Structuring

Most people and businesses are aware of the fact that when they deposit or withdraw over $10,000 in cash from a bank, a report is filed with the IRS called a Currency Transaction Report (CTR). A lot of people mistakenly believe that this report only relates to their taxes. Many do not know that if an individual or corporation attempts to evade the creation of this report by depositing or withdrawing less than $10,000 on multiple occasions or at different branches of a bank, they have committed a felony. The crime is called “structuring.” Title 31, Section 5324 of the United States Code makes it a crime punishable by 5 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. Structuring is a unique crime because it goes against the usual axiom in the criminal law that “ignorance of the law is no excuse.” In order for a federal prosecutor to prove you guilty of structuring, “willfulness” must be shown; that is, the prosecutor must prove you knew you were committing a crime. The prosecutor has to prove you were aware of the CTR reporting requirement and that you purposely acted to evade it.