United States v. Lang: Eleventh Circuit Clarifies How Structuring Violations Must be Pled in Federal Criminal Cases
On October 3, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued its decision in United States v. Lang clarifying how future indictments for structuring in violation of 31 U.S.C. § 5324(a)(3) must be pled. The decision is a game changer as it limits the ability of prosecutors to bring counts for each sub-threshold transaction used to evade reporting requirements within the greater structuring scheme. A copy of the decision can be read here.
Generally speaking, the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), found at 31 U.S.C. § 5311 et seq., requires U.S. financial institutions to assist in the detection and prevention of money laundering. More specifically, the BSA requires that financial institutions file reports with the United States Department of the Treasury of all cash transactions which exceed a daily aggregated amount of $10,000. See 31 U.S.C. § 5313; 31 C.F.R. §§ 1010.311, 1010.313. In order to prevent circumvention of this reporting requirement, the BSA further prohibits attempts to “structure” transactions for the purpose of evading BSA currency reporting requirements. See 31 U.S.C. § 5324(a)(3); 31 C.F.R. § 1010.314.
The implementing regulations of the BSA define “structuring” as follows:
For purposes of § 1010.314, a person structures a transaction if that person, acting alone, or in conjunction with, or on behalf of, other persons, conducts or attempts to conduct one or more transactions in currency, in any amount, at one or more financial institutions, on one or more days, in any manner, for the purpose of evading the reporting requirements under §§ 1010.311, 1010.313, 1020.315, 1021.311 and 1021.313 of this chapter. “In any manner” includes, but is not limited to, the breaking down of a single sum of currency exceeding $10,000 into smaller sums, including sums at or below $10,000, or the conduct of a transaction, or series of currency transactions at or below $10,000. The transaction or transactions need not exceed the $10,000 reporting threshold at any single financial institution on any single day in order to constitute structuring within the meaning of this definition.
However, when a transaction has been structured, a question arises as to how many structuring crimes have occurred. In other words, the issue in such situations is whether a person may be separately charged with violating 5324(a)(3) for the act of structuring itself and for each sub-threshold transaction made in furtherance of the crime. In Lang, the 11th Circuit answered this question with a resounding no.
In Lang, the defendant was indicted on 85 counts of violating § 5324(a)(3), and each count of the indictment charged as a separate structuring crime a currency transaction involving a single check in an amount less than $10,000. In finding that the indictment was insufficient and vacating the conviction, the 11th Circuit initially turned its focus to the phrase “for the purpose of evading” found within 31 C.F.R. § 1010.100(xx). As explained by the court, “[i]n order to be “for the purpose of evading” the reporting requirements, the structured transaction must involve an amount that is more than $10,000; otherwise, evasion would not be necessary or possible because there would be no reporting requirement anyway.” Building on this logic, the court held that “the proper unit of prosecution in structuring is the amount exceeding the reporting threshold that is structured into smaller amounts below that threshold, not each of the resulting sub-threshold transactions.”
In Lang”s case, the court found that the indictment was insufficient because of how the Government drafted each count. As explained by the court, “[i]nstead of a series of counts each alleging a payment or payments totaling more than $10,000 that were structured into checks of smaller amounts…the indictment consists of 85 counts each of which separately alleges that a single check in an amount less than $10,000 was structured. That is not possible.” Simply put, “[a]cash transaction involving a single check in an amount below the reporting threshold cannot in itself amount to structuring because the crime requires a purpose to evade the reporting requirements, and that requirement does not apply to a single cash transaction below the threshold.” As a result, the court vacated the judgment against Lang and remanded the case with directions that the indictment be dismissed.
The decision in Lang restricts the ability of prosecutors to charge defendants with separate counts of structuring for each sub-threshold transaction used to evade reporting requirements within the greater structuring scheme.
The attorneys at Fuerst Ittleman David & Joseph, PL have extensive experience in the areas of anti-money laundering compliance, administrative law, constitutional law, white collar criminal defense and litigation against the U.S. Department of Justice. You can reach an attorney by emailing us at contact@fidjlaw.com or by calling us at 305.350.5690.