Customs Money Seizure

Peter S. Herrick, P.A. represents individuals and enterprises in customs money seizure cases, assisting them to recover seized assets and litigating against improperly imposed fines for legally transported goods.

Currency and Foreign Transaction Reporting Act

The Currency and Foreign Transaction Reporting Act requires anyone transporting more than $10,000 across United States borders to file a Form 4790 with U.S. Customs.  Failure to file the report can result in asset seizure and forfeiture. 

Form 4790 states that the following persons are required to file:

1.    Anyone physically transporting, mailing, shipping, or causing such transport of currency or monetary instruments

2.    Anyone in the United States receiving currency or monetary instruments from outside the country

The following are exempt from filing reports:

1.    Federal Reserve banks

2.    Banks, foreign banks, or securities brokers or dealers

3.    Commercial banks

4.    Trust companies

5.    Persons not citizens or U.S. residents with money shipped to a bank or securities broker/dealer

6.    Common passenger carriers

7.    Common goods carriers

8.    Currency transportation businesses

9.    Persons with restrictively endorsed traveler’s checks

Monetary instruments subject to reporting and currency seizure for failure to report include the following:

1.    U.S. or foreign coin, or currency

2.    Traveler's checks (unrestricted)

3.    Negotiable instruments, such as checks, promissory notes, and money orders in bearer form, endorsed without restriction, or made to a fictitious payee, or in transferable form

4.    Incomplete instruments that omit the name of the payee

5.    Securities or stocks in bearer form

U.S. Customs does not require funds to be reported that involve normal banking procedures and no physical transport of currency or monetary instruments. 

Types of funds not subject to reporting include the following:

1.    Unendorsed checks or money orders made out to a named person or with restrictive endorsements

2.    Warehouse receipts

3.    Bills of lading

Potential penalties for reporting violations

Violations that can result in customs currency seizure include the following:

1.    Failure to file a report

2.    Material omission or misstatement in a report

3.    False or fraudulent report

Potential civil and criminal penalties for violations include:

1.    Maximum fines of $500,000

2.    Maximum imprisonment for 10 years

3.    Forfeiture of seized assets