Debanking: The Banksters are the Mortal Enemies of the Free People

18 Thursday Apr 2019

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

Tags

banks, banksters, Chase, debanking, evil, fascists, right, silence

“Chase is not involved with any like, you know, alt right people or anything.” – Chase Bank SJW1234

Since Vox Day left a few years ago, and since Pat Buchanan is available elsewhere, I really haven’t paid much attention lately to WND. But, this story on a horrific trend in US banking is worth the read.

Chase Bank is shutting down accounts of people and organizations with controversial political views, according to an undercover investigation by James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas.

O’Keefe’s latest probe found that Chase, without explanation, abruptly closed the account of a political activist that had existed for 15 years in good standing.

…

“First we get silenced on social media, which is a new public square. Then PayPal. And then I get debanked,” he said.

“It’s a very dangerous trend.”

Too big to fail? I’d say just about right for breaking up. The associated video:

I’d say boycott – and we should – but we may run out of businesses. You know, there should be an alternative to the banking stranglehold monopoly. That would involve an alternative to the Satanic Federal Reserve. I think I have a plan that should do the trick. All we need is an honest Congress and a President with a set of … nevermind.

Janet Yellen Channels Her Inner Pinocchio

27 Tuesday Jun 2017

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes

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banks, economics, economy, Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, lies, recession

This stuff writes itself.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen said Tuesday that banks are “very much stronger” and another financial crisis is unlikely anytime soon.

Speaking during an exchange in London with British Academy President Lord Nicholas Stern, the central bank chief said the Fed has learned lessons from the financial crisis and has brought stability to the banking system.

…

She also made a bold prediction: that another financial crisis the likes of the one that exploded in 2008 was not likely “in our lifetime.” The crisis, which erupted in September 2008 with the implosion of Lehman Brothers but had been stewing for years, would have been “worse than the Great Depression” without the Fed’s intervention, Yellen said.

I think I know what “no crisis like 2008 in our lifetime” means. The poor woman must be terminally ill. That or maybe she/they know the next one will be worse than 2008.

20140129Jay_image002

Kitco.

“Had been stewing for years….” Maybe that’s why, as the article later pointed out, it caught the Fed completely off guard.

I do like her giving the Fed credit for preventing the Greater Depression. Rich.

The Fed, if you recall actual history, prolonged a downturn, a recession, into the Great Depression of the 1930’s. They have experience wrecking the economy. And it’s really too soon to tell about the Greater Depression, although I’ve seen stats from two economists that show the 2008 crisis was every bit as bad as that of the 30’s and that we have yet to recover from it.

Wait! Now I know what she means. She knows the 2008 crisis never really ended. Therefore its continuation this year or next coupled with a new worsening crash technically won’t be another crisis – it’ll be the same one.

That or she’s sick.

Thoughts and prayers.

Perrin Lovett is soon coming to Patreon. You can be part of the revolution.

Banking Explained In A Few Frames

27 Sunday Nov 2016

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

banks, banksters, Pearls Before Swine

As Rat says, they really can’t make this stuff up. Today’s Pearls Before Swine cartoon accurately and easily sums up your relationship with the criminal banking industry.

nimbus-image-1480256424377

Pastis, 11/27/16.

There’s a reason I read Pearls everyday. Aside from Pastis, Scott Adams, and maybe the weather, I cannot think of any reason to consult any “news” paper these days.

Risky Banking Business

22 Tuesday Nov 2016

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes

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banks, banksters, Citi, economy

Just last week I told you about Citi’s criminal plans to prohibit cash. It’s part of the greater scheme to steal your wealth in addition to a great inconvenience.

Now, this week, news comes that Citigroup is the riskiest bank in America.

A global financial regulator declared three of America’s largest banks sources of higher risk to the world’s financial system compared to last year, requiring them to hold more capital as a sort of insurance against failure and the resulting ripple effects across the global economy. The announcement on Monday came less than two weeks after banking industry deregulation-friendly candidate Donald Trump won the presidential election.

The Basel, Switzerland-based Financial Stability Board (FSB) will, starting in January 2018, require Citigroup Inc. to have a 2.5 percent capital buffer—the second-highest risk bracket—compared to last year’s 2 percent requirement, and Bank of America Corp. needs to keep 2 percent of its capital available, above last year’s 1.5 percent. Morgan Stanley, however, was moved to the lowest risk bracket, with a capital buffer of just 1 percent, down from 1.5 percent last year.

This move is intended to shore up banking reserves and protect the public from future bailouts. Rest assured however that if the time comes, your taxes will be made readily available to the banksters.

At least the warning is out. The entire banking industry is in roughly the same shape it was in back in 2008. As to Citi’s perdicament, it couldn’t happen to a nicer bank.

Now, here’s a better, happier story:

More Christmas Tie!

img_20161122_113259157_hdr

The Financial Crisis Recovery Crisis

28 Wednesday Sep 2016

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes

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Tags

banks, banksters, crime, Deutsche Bank, Economic collapse, economy, Federal Reserve, money, The People

Remember the financial crisis? And I mean from your own personal experience. Of course you do. Now, remember the recovery – again from experience and not what the media and politicians lied about. That ones a little harder, eh? There wasn’t much of a recovery honestly.

Now the recovery in name only is in crisis. Historically we’re due for another recession at this point. And the next one will be carrying the baggage of the last in addition to new problems.

At least the Joker had a plan – chaos.

Like the fun from 2008, this next round will center on the funny money-inflated banking industry. Deutsche Bank will be playing the part of Lehman Brothers or AIG (or both).

Europe’s biggest lender Deutsche Bank has lost more than half of its value since January, posing a threat to the stability of other banks across the continent. Some analysts are worried it could invoke a large-scale crisis, bigger than in 2008.

After a massive sell-off on Monday, Deutsche Bank’s market value shrank to €14.5 billion. In dollar terms it is only $2 billion more than the $14 billion penalty the bank faces from the United States Department of Justice over its mortgage-backed securities business before the 2008 global crisis.

Deutsche’s problems have raised questions about the health of other big European lenders. The share price of the Royal Bank of Scotland has plunged 13 percent and Italy’s UniCredit is down 12 percent this month. The Bloomberg Europe 500 Banks and Financial Services Index is down 4.2 percent for September. This is the worst result since June, when the Brexit referendum heavily hit the markets.

The problems of Deutsche Bank are putting the German government in a difficult dilemma, as it must decide whether to save the bank, whose assets are valued at about €1.8 trillion, half the size of the German economy.

Get that? A crisis bigger than 2008. That’s because this one is still tainted by the problems of 2008 which were never dealt with.

Germany is working on a rescue plan but that is just for and because of one bank. What about the others?

There was a secret rescue of sorts after 2008. The Federal Reserve printed up and gave away (loaned to be technical) about $16 Trillion. All of it went to the banks. The banks did nothing with the money; I’ve talked about this before. Maybe a third of the fake cash was gifted to foreign banks – mainly European. The same banks that are in trouble again. The numbers are hard to figure but Deutsche got hundreds of Billion$.

But that doesn’t mean it didn’t accept government rescue money during the financial crisis. Consider the following:

As one of the largest counterparties of failed insurer AIG, Deutsche Bank received $11.8 billion of the funds used to bail out AIG. [2]
The Federal Reserve made emergency low-cost funds widely available to foreign as well as US member institutions through its discount window. Deutsche Bank was the second heaviest user of such funds, borrowing more than $2 billion. [3]
The Federal Reserve also created a program known as the Term Asset-Backed Securities Lending Facility, which allowed banks to use their assets, including troubled or hard-to-value assets, as collateral for short term loans. Deutsche Bank was the largest user of the program, sending the Fed more than $290 billion worth of mortgage securities.[4]

To most people, who don’t make fine distinctions among the particular government programs that funneled their tax dollars to financial institutions, this probably looks an awful lot like a bailout.

This has been on my radar since at least 2013. I focused on the derivatives bubble then. It’s amazing that it has lasted this long.

And, it can’t last much longer. This crisis will probably be the main story of this fall, rather than the clown-show of the U.S. election.

Sadly, the people “in charge” have no idea how to combat these problems, which they created. Their only solutions will be more of the same. For us, that means more suffering. prepare now; this could get very rough.

Getting The Business

20 Wednesday Jul 2016

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes

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America, banks, business, corporations, economy, government, Perrin Lovett, recession, small business, start-ups, Wall Street

Money reports there were fewer small business start-ups these days in America:

Bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs: Now might not be the best time to launch your own business.

Total entrepreneurial activity in the U.S.—measured by the number of people starting and operating new businesses—fell to 12% in 2015, from 14% in 2014, according to a report released Tuesday by Babson College. The drop reverses upward growth in small business activity during the previous four years.

The findings could indicate that employees are satisfied with their jobs and unwilling to strike out on their own. But the research could also show a lack of confidence in the small business environment in the wake of the recession, Babson professor Donna Kelley told CNBC. The Small Business Optimism Index, a metric from the National Federation of Independent Business, has remained below its 42-year average since the recession.

I find it interesting that commentators keep throwing around “since the last recession” and “the wake of the recession” so much. Are they talking about the 2008 financial crisis recession? You know, the one that will soon be a decade past. Or do they really mean the current or immediate future recession? We are historically overdue.

Ebay.

This story is a little personal for me as I launched (full-time) my small business this summer. I’ve had several in the past – all failures. This time will be different (as I’ve said before). A business idea, even if it’s the very best idea in the world, isn’t easy to get off the ground anymore. Big, existing, and stagnant business dinosaurs join with the government to make the start-up process as painful as possible.

Aside from the licenses, taxes, regulations, inspections, prohibitions, and general meddling, the corporatist/banking/state cabal has seen to it that your potential customers and investors are not in the best position to help you with your incredible idea launch – they too still recover from “the last recession”.

You’ve got the likes of Speaker Paul Ryan who promises to crack down on job-taking and nightclub-shooting immigrants just after he rubber-stamps another 300,000 of them coming in on visas.

It’s amazing that any small business starts today. I’m not so sure about that idea of employee satisfaction with existing work. CNBC reports on the woes of “regular” employment, the loss of jobs and pay, even on Wall Street. This story deals with Wall Street banks – those very entities that OWN America… If their employees are getting the short end of the stick, what does that suggest about the rest of the workforce?

Anyway, I’m plowing ahead with my new enterprise. Of late I have finally developed an email list of sorts. Someone important once said, “You’re an idiot if you don’t have a list.” I was an idiot up until last week… In my defense, I was still recovering “from the recession.”

Money Vultures Panic in Georgia

01 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns, News and Notes

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Tags

banks, banksters, Constitution, Courts, debt, due process, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, federal court, Federal Reserve, fiat money, Fourth Amendment, garnishment, General Assembly, Georgia, Jesus, law, Marvin Shoob, money, money-lenders, panic, The People, the poor

Happy October the first! I cover a lot of legal issues here. Many of them are bad – like the New Jersey Supreme Court’s recent ruling that the police no longer need a warrant to search your vehicle. Fourth Amendment be damned.

However, I am so happy to report good news! For the economically disadvantaged among us (many and growing) and those in danger of joining them (most of the rest) the news doesn’t get much better than this:

Last month a Federal Judge struck down Georgia’s debt collection garnishment law as Unconstitutional! See also: here and here.

The Judge was Marvin Shoob, whom I know from experience to be a class act and one of the fairest jurists around.

Tuesday’s ruling by U.S. District Senior Judge Marvin Shoob said the statute violated constitutional guarantees of due process by not giving debtors enough notice about the sorts of funds that are exempt from garnishment and how to claim those exemptions. He said the statute also didn’t provide a procedure to adjudicate exemption claims quickly enough.

Although the ruling rests on protecting the rights of individual consumers whose funds may be protected from creditors, it could affect all sorts of garnishments, including those that arise from business disputes and child support orders. Lawyers are debating whether simple changes in forms and procedures can allow garnishments to proceed prior to any legislative fix or further court ruling.

“People are panicking,” said Harriet Isenberg, who co-chairs the creditors’ rights section of the State Bar of Georgia.

Alyson Palmer, Collections-Lawyers-Scramble-After-Garnishment-Law-Is-Struck, Fulton County Daily Report, September 10, 2015.

Good. Let them panic. They deserve it for a change as do their money-changing masters.

The subject case stemmed from a judgment collection action by a major credit card company against a poor man in Gwinnett County. I know these cases well. When I was a law clerk I reviewed hundreds of them – each the same. The banks file suit with no evidence whatsoever that any debt is owed and in 90% of their cases they win a default judgment.

It’s a terrible shame. They don’t have any proof. One or two Request for Admission questions and these cases would be dismissed. The poor don’t know. The banks (and the State) don’t care.

Once the bank has a default judgment they file a wage or bank garnishment in an attempt to recover some of their (proof-less) monies. As Judge Shoob points out the garnishment procedure is as crooked as the rest of the process.

As an aside, even if these banks could prove they had loaned money in the first place, I still wouldn’t feel bad for them losing it. It never really existed, being a product of the Federal Reserve’s illegal funny money ponzi scheme. More on that another time.

For now the banksters and their vulture collection agents will have to comply with the law. Otherwise, “using a statute that has been declared unconstitutional to seek collection of consumer debt arguably would violate the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.” Daily Report, supra. That means the bank would end up owing and facing stiff penalties. Ha!

Banks and other large companies run the State of Georgia. They will have this ruling nullified somewhere and soon. There’s even talk of a special session of the ordinarily do-nothing General Assembly in order to bring the law into compliance with the Constitution. Imagine that.

For now the banksters are feeling the panic their ancient predecessors felt when a certain Street Preacher ran them out of the Temple. The rest of us are feeling a little relief. Thank you Judge Shoob.

Despicable Denny Proves a Point (Several in Fact)

31 Sunday May 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns, News and Notes

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America, banks, children, Congress, crime, Denny Hastert, Diebold, elections, evil, FBI, Federal government, felony, freedom, Geneva Convention, George Bush, government, House of Representatives, illegal, Illinois, immoral, Jesse Ventura, Jesus, law, Matthew 18:6, money, politicians, rape, Republicans, Structuring, Texas, The People, Tom DeLay, voting

Warning: the subject matter de jure is downright sickening. The other day I stated that I really hate politicians. If you’ve ever met or smelled one, then you understand.

News came last week of the indictment of yet another filthy, criminal pol. It was spun in rather drab fashion I think. People are so used to this sort of thing it’s not really news anymore. Yet, and still, the people clamor for their “representatives” whenever an election comes to town. That’s proven point number one – the public is composed of voting idiots.

Dennis “Denny” Hastert was a Republican Congress-criter from Illinois. He served as the 59th Speaker of the House from 1999 until 2007. This coincided, largely, with the reign of Jorge Bush, the Dimmer.

You may recall how Hastert helped Bush double the national debt while creating new cabinet agencies and several undeclared wars – conservative stuff. Proven point number two – politicians of any party and their governments are a band of criminals and the scourge of civilization. Denny’s House Whip (the following story lends new and lurid speculation as to this term) was Tom DeLay. DeLay narrowly avoided a felony conviction and prison for election violations in Texas. Hastert now faces felony charges of his own from the federal government.

Remember my piece on “Structuring?” No? Read it again for good measure.

Cash transactions in excess of $10,000 are automatically flagged by banks and referred to the FBI for investigation. No crime needs be committed. Just withdrawing your own money for any reason is suspicious enough for the ever-nosey feds to examine. One would think they’d be busy fighting terrorists or child rapists or something.

Anyway, it is also illegal to split cash deposits or withdrawals into smaller increments so as to evade the reporting process. It seems criminal intent is in the Eye of Sauron of the government beholder. Consult the U.S. Code – 31 U.S.C. 5324 – for specifics on this idiotic law.

Dear Denny has been charged with structuring his cash withdrawals. Some time ago he began to withdraw $50,000 at a time from his bank accounts. Five times the “legal” limit, these transactions were automatically flagged. The bank or the cops must have informed Denny because he began to make withdrawals (lots of them) at just under the $10,000 limit. Denny withdrew several million dollars in such fashion.

These lesser withdrawals were noted by the bank. Concerned Denny was being blackmailed or something, the bank reported the new, lower withdrawals to the Empire. While any cash transaction over $10,000 must be automatically reported any amount the bank deems suspicious can be reported on a “STR” or suspicious transactions report.

Let’s be clear for a second. Your money is your money. You have the right to do whatever you want with it and in any amount or combinations of amounts. It is your damned property. Or you should have the right. The government and “your” bank are infringing your rights. Thus, poor Denny is a victim of this Draconian, illegitimate law. Point number three – federal banking laws exist to control and hurt people.

Denny is also charged with lying to federal officials. This proves another point of mine – do not talk to any officers or agents of any police force – ever. If you’re not talking, you’re not lying. Point four – do not talk to the cops.

It turns out Denny had a rather pressing reason to move his funds around as he did. Before Denny descended into the cesspool of Washington he was a fat teacher and wrestling coach at a high school in a small Illinois town. Either from a deranged mind or a strategic training regimen for his future political career Denny began to sexually molest one (or more) of his underage male charges.

I have not researched the specifics of these allegations and I do not plan to. I will assume they were lecherous, debased acts of the Jerry Sandusky variety. It is technically possible Denny is innocent in this matter (the sex matter). It is also technically possible a black hole will materialize overnight and swallow the sun, thus bringing a tomorrow without dawn. The odds of both are roughly equal though weighted in favor of the astronomical anomaly. Denny obtained the cash in order to pay off his would be accuser(s). Child molestation or rape charges don’t help a grafting political career and may cause inconvenient jail time.

I imagine these boys (or boy) were younger and smaller than most. Predators seek out the weaker members of the herd for attack. In any event they were young men, children, in need of molding and guidance. Instead, they suffered physical trauma and psychological damage no-one, especially a child, should ever experience.

Men (and women) who molest children should be disposed of in the most brutal manner conceivable. Hastert, Sandusky, Michael Jackson, that lowlife down the block – not one of them contributes to society and each is a unacceptible danger. Hang them from the highest trees. This is point five: “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Matthew 18:6 (KJV)(mind you, Jesus says this tortuous execution would be better than what awaits the degenerate in Hell).

(Cash, rape and politics. Ready the millstone. Chicago Tribune.)

One would think the government would be more interested in prosecuting child rape than imagined financial irregularities. One would be wrong in America. Jesse Ventura once noted the excellent point that people under the age of 21 are treated as children in America, forbidden to drink alcohol by the government. The same government sends people under 21 off to war to die in jungles and deserts. Thus, the U.S. government sends children to war. This is a war crime under the Geneva Convention.

Sad, but true, in America the government cares more amount money and systemic process than about protecting innocent children. Given enough time to metastasize all governments eventually behave with such disregard for morality. This brings up point number six – government is utterly useless and extraordinarily dangerous. Tell that to the Diebold voting machine next time you are asked to sanction the system.

The Lesser American Flag Flap

06 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns, News and Notes

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America, banks, Bill of Rights, Constitution, Courts, criminals, Facebook, First Amendment, flag, freedom, Georgia, government, insanity, IRS, Libya, Mordor, NFL, people, protest, slavery, taxes, theft, Tom Brady, War, Washington

A long time ago I penned a column called The Great American Flag Flap (I think). It was published somewhere and I think it was about the attempt of various rednecks to anger blacks by flying the Confederate Battle Flag. Maybe I have the parties backwards. It was about nonsense nonetheless.

It has come to my attention that there currently rages across the land a new flag-related issue. This time it concerns the American Flag. Maybe you’ve heard the news. A group of black (???) students at a Georgia University (always in Georgia, God help us…) decided to walk on the U.S. Flag in protest of … something. There’s a lot to protest in Amerika today. I fully understand that.

Those students have drawn considerable protest of their protest. Also, other students (?) elsewhere have started threading on flags.

(Here some bearded yahoo stands on the Flag for something… WDTN.com.)

By the letter of the law (in a book somewhere) this activity is illegal flag desecration. However, the courts have consistently ruled that flag walking (burning, etc.) is free speech protected by the First Amendment. Remember the First Amendment? The Constitution? Rule of law and all that???

I call this post The LESSER American Flag Flap for a reason. The fact is, all things considered, flag trampling does not overly concern me. Some of my friends on Facebook see it otherwise. I have received several requests to condemn these flag protests as a dire threat to everything America allegedly stands for. I understand this but I am still not concerned.

The protest protesters say things like the following. Cleetus from Heehaw Junction, West Virginia says, “that thar flag stands for the men who died for our freedoms!” Lucy Lou from South Hick, Mississippi screams, “theys don’t understand what we has been through as democratic peoples!” Jethro from the upstate of New York avers: “We have a flag for a democrats. The country needs a hero. Yous guys needs to know that the service of the armed forces means more work here. The terrorists are everywhere!” Well said, Jethro.

I disagree with all of these statements though I respect the sentiment behind them all – except Jethro’s – not sure what he’s rambling about.

Here’s my problem. Right now, we have a government hell bent on taxing and regulating our people into the grave. The same government wants to bomb and invade all other peoples on earth. The police run around murdering people SS style. There are no jobs. The children can’t read or eat. We are beset with hoards of illiterate invaders who are determined to obtain every benefit the welfare office offers. Bridges are collapsing. James Brown is dead. Amidst all this, I’m supposed to be upset because some kid somewhere stepped on a piece of fabric? I think not.

I just heard the NFL received a 243 page report on Delate-gate. Tom Brady is in the crosshairs. Mind you, that’s about 243 more pages than we saw about the 2012 death and destruction at the Benghazi Consulate.

It’s worse. The head cover-upper of Benghazi is the Democratic front runner for President in 2016. The leading Republican is a guy named Bush. See a pattern?

The short, pointless war in Libya was designed solely to steal the soverign wealth fund of that country from the long-suffering people of Libya. Some $200 Billion dollars worth of funds were whisked out of Libya and into the hands of a British Bank. No explanation given, no questions asked. The predicament now over that money is how much our criminal friends at Goldman Sachs were entitled to.

Keep your eye on the soft football, folks.

The crown of insanity sits atop the head of our central imperial government. Despite robbing a hundred million Americans every year, the IRS still claims you have rights!

(The Tax Slave Bill of Rights. IRS/Morgoth.)

Ten rights to be exact. Do not confuse these with the defunct Bill of Rights which once accompanied the charter of the Mordor on the Potomac. The tenth “right” brought laughter to my lips: The right to a fair and just tax system! I tell you that no such thing exists in nature or in fiction. The system is place is plain but in no way fair. You simply pay what they tell you or they seize your property and put you in jail. Resist and they will do away with you. Just, huh?

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe a little more respect for flags and footballs is all necessary to cure the ills of the free world. Maybe the sun will rise in the West tomorrow.

Structuring, Are You Guilty?

06 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

31 U.S.C. 5324, Americans, attorneys, banks, Boston, crime, CTR, FBI, Federal government, forfeiture, Harvey Silverglate, money, selective prosecution, Structuring, The Smurfs!, Three Felonies a Day, U.S. Attorney

Boston attorney Harvey Sliverglate wrote an insightful book called Three Felonies A Day, http://www.amazon.com/Three-Felonies-Day-Target-Innocent/dp/1594035229, about how the average “law-abiding” American commits three “serious” offenses every day without realizing it. His point is one I have seen firsthand – the feds have thousands of laws, which criminalize everything imaginable, from which to choose to selectively prosecute anyone they want. They can always decline, but when they do target a citizen, that person is instantly in a world of pain.

Here’s an example of such a federal criminal law you didn’t know about and probably have committed. After law school, passing the bar exam, and practicing criminal law for years, I had never heard of it until one particular case (maybe I’m dumb…). The mere existence of the law and it’s application potential I find staggering.

I had a client charged with another crime who received a wrist-slap as punishment (more excellent lawyering, folks! [my deal to have his case completely dismissed fell through due to administrative technicalities]). The FBI had previously seized numerous items of his property including about $25,000 in cash from his house. The do that frequently and usually the items (especially money) are “forfeited” to the government. However, while this particular case proceeded through the system, they slowly returned almost all items to my client’s wife. Immediately after the final hearing an agent approached me about returning the cash! I was a little dumbfounded. They gave the money back that very day. I have still never seen or heard of this happening again.

Anyway, the client’s wife and I went to the local FBI office to retrieve the money. It was still in large bill form, exactly as removed from the house. Whatever I may say about them, the FBI is extremely efficient and organized. While the money was being counted out in our presence I told the wife she should immediately deposit it into her bank account for safety. Then I recalled that cash transactions in excess of $10,000 are automatically flagged by banks and refered to the FBI for investigation. As you know, all cash amounts over $10K are the result solely of criminal activity…

So, to help her avoid the hassle, I suggested she break the deposit into 3 installments. The agent in charge stopped counting, looked up, and said, “That’s Structuring.” I looked at him like a deer observing an approaching 18-wheeler and asked, “Huh?” He then explained how it was illegal to split cash deposits so as to evade the reporting process. He then kindly noted that if she deposited all the money (he thought it a good idea too) the report would come to him and he would have the system pre-flagged to ignore and dismiss the report. I know and trust this particular agent as an outstanding man of integrity so I had no problem trusting him. Things worked out fine.

As I was leaving he said he would have our friend at the U.S. Attorney’s office provide me information on the crime. By the time my friend called, I had already researched the law – 31 U.S.C. 5324. He directed me to a website which provided a pamphlet warning against the practice and giving examples of innocent enough transactions which are, in fact, illegal. He asked me to spread this information to all attorneys I know and all of my friends. Thus, I relay his story to you. By the way, the banking industry refers to this practice as “smurfing,” in honor of those little blue critters from the 80s…

(The Smurfs weapon of choice. Google Images.)

You can view the pamphlet here, http://www.fincen.gov/whatsnew/pdf/CTRPamphlet.pdf. They have one geared toward gambling winnings too, http://www.fincen.gov/whatsnew/pdf/CTR-CPamphlet.pdf.

Here are two examples of smurfing violations, taken from the first pamphlet:

“2. Jane needs $18,000 in cash to pay for supplies for her wood-carving business. Jane cashes a $9,000 personal check at a financial institution on a Monday, then cashes another $9,000 personal check at the financial institution the following day. Jane cashed the checks separately and structured the transactions in an attempt to evade the CTR reporting requirement.” CTR Pamphlet, www.fincen.gov.

“3. A married couple, John and Jane, sell a vehicle for $15,000 in cash. To evade the CTR reporting requirement, John and Jane structure their transactions using different accounts. John deposits $8,000 of that money into his and Jane’s joint account in the morning. Later that day, Jane deposits $1,500 into the joint account, and then $5,500 into her sister’s account, which is later transferred to John and Jane’s joint account.” CTR Pamphlet, www.fincen.gov.

Jane and John are hardened criminals who could be sentenced from one to five years in federal prison. Don’t be like Jane and John!

I can envision situations in which an attorney or am accountant, for example, might “structure” a client’s funds like this. While the attorney and his client might have innocent intentions, their acts would be criminal. I’m still trying to get this all straight in my head.

We know that keeping cash on hand is illegal as the cash can be stolen (“forfeited”) due to alleged involvement in criminal activity. All cash comes from crime! We also know depositing the money whole with a bank will be reported as a possible indication of crime. Depositing the money in batches is a crime.

I now take my friend’s friendly advice; I advise everyone that everything is illegal. Good luck out there!