See the top rated post in this thread. Click here

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 13 of 38

Thread: Money Confiscated at the Niagara Falls Border

  1. #1


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No

    Money Confiscated at the Niagara Falls Border

    Hi all,

    I was hoping to get any kind of advice I could in light of the events that took place last night at the US border. Here's what happened:

    A friend and I decided we wanted to make a trip to Niagara Falls to play at Seneca for the day (both of us are Canadian citizens). When planning the trip the week before my friend told me he would love to come and if it was possible for him to borrow me US funds because he didn't have any. Friends and I who make these trips do this all the time; we borrow foreign currency from each other in order to save on the spread from currency exchanges. If my friend were to lose he would have simply given me back my US dollars or he would have paid me in Canadian at the spot rate.

    I brought 9500usd and my friend borrowed 8500usd. We let the agent at the border know exactly what we were carrying right away. We were pulled into secondary and when questioned I explained to the agent that I gave my friend the money to borrow because he did not have any USD. The border agent accused me of structuring and the funds were seized. They had my friend and I in separate rooms for over 5 hours pinning us against one another and trying to get the other to admit that one of us was purposefully trying to carry under 10k so we did not have to declare. We told them this is simply not true and that was the money we needed for the day. I have no problem declaring, in fact, I declared 12k USD on two separate occasions the week before.

    They had a "special agent" from homeland security question me. When I explained the situation to him he told me that this would be handled "administratively" and not "criminally." He said I would have to appeal to get the money back and that it was out of their hands now as the money goes to another department.

    Should I obtain legal advice to get the money back?
    "It is not when truth is dirty, but when it is shallow, that the lover of knowledge is reluctant to step into its waters"

    -Nietzsche

  2. #2
    Banned or Suspended
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Eastern U S A
    Posts
    6,830


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No

    YES. "Lawyer up" immediately.

    I carry very large sums with me and T.S.A. agents have at times questioned me.
    For a minute or so. That is because I carry actual receipts from my bank (FCU)

  3. #3


    1 out of 1 members found this post helpful. Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    You should never say that the money was borrowed from you and not HIS money.
    Two choices:
    1- You both declare that the money is YOURS. It's my money and it's his money. You have to STICK to it.
    2- The much simple way, you keep the bunch of $18,000 on you and declare it as being all YOUR money. You complete the papers and you're fine!
    G Man

  4. #4


    0 out of 2 members found this post helpful. Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    Quote Originally Posted by BJtoronto View Post
    Hi all,

    I was hoping to get any kind of advice I could in light of the events that took place last night at the US border. Here's what happened:

    A friend and I decided we wanted to make a trip to Niagara Falls to play at Seneca for the day (both of us are Canadian citizens). When planning the trip the week before my friend told me he would love to come and if it was possible for him to borrow me US funds because he didn't have any. Friends and I who make these trips do this all the time; we borrow foreign currency from each other in order to save on the spread from currency exchanges. If my friend were to lose he would have simply given me back my US dollars or he would have paid me in Canadian at the spot rate.

    I brought 9500usd and my friend borrowed 8500usd. We let the agent at the border know exactly what we were carrying right away. We were pulled into secondary and when questioned I explained to the agent that I gave my friend the money to borrow because he did not have any USD. The border agent accused me of structuring and the funds were seized. They had my friend and I in separate rooms for over 5 hours pinning us against one another and trying to get the other to admit that one of us was purposefully trying to carry under 10k so we did not have to declare. We told them this is simply not true and that was the money we needed for the day. I have no problem declaring, in fact, I declared 12k USD on two separate occasions the week before.

    They had a "special agent" from homeland security question me. When I explained the situation to him he told me that this would be handled "administratively" and not "criminally." He said I would have to appeal to get the money back and that it was out of their hands now as the money goes to another department.

    Should I obtain legal advice to get the money back?
    Just admit you are wrong and take whatever your penalty is. Clearly you are structuring all your money with the help of your friend. You already admitted in your first statement. Even you want to take it back, the agents won't allow you. Why would they? They already have your balls on the sliver plate you served them. They will never let them go.
    Last edited by BJGenius007; 05-28-2017 at 02:21 PM.

  5. #5


    1 out of 1 members found this post helpful. Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    You didn't say if you declared to Canada Customs prior to exit. If you didn't, that may well have been part of the problem, as the Canadian dollar equivalent in both sums mentioned us in excess if CAD 10k.

    If this us correct t, then your omission could well have contributed to your troubles. In your favour was the upfront declaration. Though ignorance if the law us not excusable, honesty is in your favour. There will likely be a seizure if fumes, a euphemism in this case, that your penalty will end yo being about $250 or $300 USD, though it would still be a good idea to get some legal advice.

  6. #6


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    Quote Originally Posted by BJtoronto View Post

    Should I obtain legal advice to get the money back?
    If you have to ask, the answer will always be yes.

  7. #7
    Senior Member Jabberwocky's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Agharta
    Posts
    1,868


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    Quote Originally Posted by Exoter175 View Post
    If you have to ask, the answer will always be yes.
    Sue the bastards!

  8. #8


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    Quote Originally Posted by Jabberwocky View Post
    Sue the bastards!
    For doing their jobs? By the letter of the law?
    "Your honor, with all due respect: if you're going to try my case for me, I wish you wouldn't lose it."

    Fictitious Boston Attorney Frank Galvin (Paul Newman - January 26, 1925 - September 26, 2008) in The Verdict, 1982, lambasting Trial Judge Hoyle (Milo Donal O'Shea - June 2, 1926 - April 2, 2013) - http://imdb.com/title/tt0084855/

  9. #9


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    Quote Originally Posted by Jabberwocky View Post
    Sue the bastards!
    With all deference to OP, we all screw up.
    Stupidity and ignorance Of the law us not a foundation to a successful lawsuit.

  10. #10


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    I agree with Freightman's advice- I think they were actually quite nice to you by making it administrative rather than criminal. The instructions on the form (not sure if you actually filled one) deals with money carried or "in some other way sent as cash". Splitting money between travelers, though sometimes honestly done, is the most common way of evading the threshold. Borrowing money from you by a friend, which leaves you just $500 below the threshold made it even more suspicious. If you can pay a penalty and get any money back, consider yourself lucky.

  11. #11


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    I have always been under the impression that the total amount of cash in the vehicle is the amount which will either exceed or not exceed the threshold, regardless of who is carrying it. It sounds like they did declare the total amount.

  12. #12


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    I think the form said something about "party" which is taken to mean "household" or "traveling together". In that case, they should fill in one form. It gets fuzzy at the border, as they do not always fill forms traveling by car unless pulled for a secondary. The vehicle definition is probably just used to define "a family " but not really a legal one. Imagine few friends going to poker tournament, each carrying 100K of their own money but riding the same vehicle. Each would have to make accounting for the money and take responsibility for this account.

  13. #13


    Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
    Quote Originally Posted by Gronbog View Post
    I have always been under the impression that the total amount of cash in the vehicle is the amount which will either exceed or not exceed the threshold, regardless of who is carrying it. It sounds like they did declare the total amount.
    I think the issue is that they fumbled up disclosing to the officer in the first place. This couldn't have gone as "clean" as in the OP's post. Once that red flag goes up and reasonable doubt workable, they go straight into protocol.

    I could see the officers head as the OP tried to tell him the story of the "borrowing" with his friends lol.

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

About Blackjack: The Forum

BJTF is an advantage player site based on the principles of comity. That is, civil and considerate behavior for the mutual benefit of all involved. The goal of advantage play is the legal extraction of funds from gaming establishments by gaining a mathematic advantage and developing the skills required to use that advantage. To maximize our success, it is important to understand that we are all on the same side. Personal conflicts simply get in the way of our goals.