All you $100,000+/- cash Au buyers out there...headszup! (URLS below)
found this in my e*mail box just now:
A Catch 22 worthy of its name:--and one that's very dangerous.
The banks have to report these transactions, but they don't have to tell you that you do also.
You have to report it--or you're a criminal. And, the teller can
make a bundle for turning you in if you fail to comply.
Early in 1997, the latest in a string of government regulations
that target ordinary citizens took effect. Because of this, you could be liable for serious trouble without any idea you had done anything.
Imagine this scenario...
You need to send your brother money for a family emergency. You walk into your bank and purchase a $3500 money order, with money from your savings account. The teller handles your transaction, asks what you are going to do with the money, and says nothing about the report. You drop it in the mail and quickly forget about it. A few days later, you're arrested; and every penny in your savings account--your major life savings--is seized. You're convicted of a felony--failure to file a "currency transaction report" (CTR), IRS Form 4789. The bank could have done it for you, but under the law it's your responsibility-- and the teller stands to make a fortune if you don't report it.
The teller can collect a reward--up to $150,000!!!!
Make no mistake, this scenario is not only possible--situations
like it are already happening. How can this be?
You may not know this, but under the provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act, a CTR must be filed with the IRS for any cash transaction involving $10,000 or more.
But that's not all. CTRs must also be filed by anyone purchasing more than $3000 in money orders or making transfers among bank accounts in a series totaling $10,000 or more.
You can become a felon merely by making a banking mistake!
Failure to file a CTR is a criminal felony.
And to constitute a crime, there is no requirement that the money be involved in any criminal activity. It is a crime simply not to report the transaction. Your bank could file it for you--but they may not.
Besides, the law also applies to:
private bankers,
brokers,
investment bankers,
currency dealers,
check cashing firms,
credit card companies
insurance companies,
metals dealers,
jewelers,
pawnbrokers,
loan companies,
travel agencies,
money senders Western Union),
auto companies,
boat companies,
airplane companies,
sales companies,
parties to real estate transactions,
casinos,
etc.
The penalty?
If you were to make such a mistake, you would be liable to:
A) a five-year prison sentence AND
B) a $250,000 fine.
The law allows the FEDS to confiscate any funds they alleged to
be involved, and your bank teller would collect a huge reward!
The laws have made banks liable for not conforming to regulations requiring them to report these transactions. They must file "suspicious activity reports" on a wide range of activities that may be perfectly innocent transactions. Fed investigators are already conducting "sting" operations at selected banks to insure employee compliance.
Lots of people don't know this,
but in 1996,
using the powers of the Bank Secrecy Act,
our government put into law new "Suspicious Activity Report" (SAR) regulations.
These rules--which affect 23,000 banks and lending institutions--force bank officers and employees to act as "cops." Under the rules, they now have a legal duty to report any individual or cumulative transactions of $5,000 or more which in their judgement
might be suspect.
And besides being liable for penalties if they don't report these transactions, they have the financial incentives to do so, as mentioned before. It doesn't matter whether you're wealthy or of average income, an individual or corporation--the government is targeting the wealth of it's citizens, and you are at risk.
Today, your wealth--and your ability to do with it as you please--are in great danger. Not only are there a proliferation of thieves in our society out to steal our money, but the government itself--the very institution we rely on to guard our rights--is after our wealth more persistently and maliciously than any thief in the world.
(end of forwarded e*mail to me) Can anyone refute?
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for more research:
thomas.loc.gov
ustreas.gov
Allright...am I the last to see this in print...found it on a Y2K mailing list I subscribe to, for the first time today.
Any lawyers or CPA's on here that can provide case law cites to SI potential law breaking blokes? Public or Private E-mail welcome. |
