Seizure of U.S. Currency at the Airport in San Antonio
Agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) working at the San Antonio International Airport seize currency from travelers. The seizures of U.S. Currency for forfeiture occur with both domestic and international flights.
For fiscal year 2019, CBP seized more than 65 million dollars in U.S. Currency. In the San Antonio and Dallas area, currency seizures reached over $1,000,000 and have increased more than 50% over the same time last fiscal year.
Attorneys for Airport Currency Seizure Cases
The attorneys at Goldstein & Orr represent clients after the seizure of money at the airport in Texas, including the airport in San Antonio, or Dallas. We are familiar with the tactics used by law enforcement officers at the San Antonio International Airport when money is seized for civil asset forfeiture.
If your money was taken at the airport, the attorneys at Goldstein & Orr can help you file a verified claim for court action. Act quickly because strict deadlines apply.
Filing the verified claim starts a 90 day deadline for the Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) to either return the money or file a complaint for forfeiture in the U.S. District Court.
If your money was taken at the airport in San Antonio or Dallas. then call the experienced civil asset forfeiture attorneys at Goldstein & Orr to begin the fight to get it back.
Call (210) 226-1463.
Seizure of Money on Domestic Flights
For domestic flights, federal agents can seize U.S. Currency if they legally gain information that the money is involved in drug trafficking or money laundering.
The money is often detected at the security checkpoint at the airport in San Antonio. Then TSA screeners will give a secret tip to law enforcement officers who might then detain the traveler at the security checkpoint or right before they board their flight.
In addition to agents from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), local law enforcement officers or federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), or the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) might be involved with the seizure.
For international flights, CBP agents can seize U.S. Currency at the airport in San Antonio, TX, for travelers who willfully refused to provide an accurate report or evade reporting requirements while carrying more than $10,000 on the FinCEN 500 form.
Although there is no limit to the amount of currency a traveler can bring in or take out of the U.S., the traveler must complete a Currency Reporting Form (FinCEN 500) when carrying $10,000 or more.
The $10,000 requirement is not limited to only U.S. Currency, but also covers other types of monetary instruments including foreign currency, travelers’ checks, or gold.
If two or more people are traveling together, then the group of travelers must report carrying $10,000 or more on the Customs Declaration Form even if each traveler individually has less than $10,000.
If the travelers split up more than $10,000 between them in an attempt to avoid the reporting requirement, then CBP agents might seize the money and allege “currency structuring.”
Customs and Border Protection at the Airport in San Antonio
In 2013, the international airport in San Antonio, Texas, became a Global Entry enrollment center for Customs and Border Protection.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility is now located in Terminal A. In some cases, a person is taken to the CBP facility in Terminal A to be interrogated when any large amount of U.S. currency is found on a traveler and seized for forfeiture.
