Just wanted to chime in on this- I am a compliance examiner of financial institutions. Cash in excess of $10,000 deposited same day, same account(s) ownership, regardless of reasoning and explanation of funds, is required to be reported (name of report is Currency Transaction Report) to FinCEN. The financial institution is required per the Bank Secrecy Act to report transactions such as this.
When someone attempts to structure cash funds by depositing cash in small increments to avoid detection, financial institutions have sophisticated reporting that will alert staff. When activity is happening that is not normal for the customer, the Bank Secrecy Act requires diligent investigation and mandatory reporting (called Suspicious Activity Report).
Basically, it is quite difficult to get away with structuring/money laundering, as it is reported via sophisticated transaction data collection and/or diligent financial institution staff. Failure to comply results in HUGE fines, bank shut downs and reputation risk.
Thank you! I really appreciate your explanation. I know basic banking, and that is it! I did some reading about money laundering and the various ways it might be possible, but that stuff is extremely hard to wrap your head around if you're starting from scratch!
I would imagine once upon a time it might have been a little easier, but with computers and stricter guidelines to be followed, it seemed like it would be darn near impossible without someone raising an eyebrow at you. I would imagine the plethora of shady bankers/accountants that could be involved in this would be HUGE...yet still risky. It sounds next to impossible to get away with.
Out of curiosity, if this is even in your realm of expertise..Chris Senior purchased land with 30,000.00 down and financed another 30,000.00 through the bank. From what I understand, he basically did odd jobs at a place called Big Bear Lake State Resort park, sold repurposed cars and did the occasional excavation type work. Aside from having a legit W-2 from Big Bear, how could he go about providing proof of income for a 30,000 loan? He did own some land on his own, however the rest of it was shared between brothers and sisters as family land.
If he used 30,000.00 of his own money, surely this was reported income, right? If it wasn't, could this purchase somehow be flagged as suspicious?
I apologize if I am not making sense! I swear I'm trying!