United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

NEW YORK MAN CHARGED WITH STRUCTURING CASH TRANSACTIONS AT CENTRAL CONNECTICUT BANKS

Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that a federal grand jury sitting in New Haven returned an indictment today charging MICHAEL DONNELL BOND, 36, of Brooklyn, New York, with structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements.

Federal law requires all financial institutions to file a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) for currency transactions that exceed $10,000.  To evade the filing of a CTR, individuals will often structure their currency transactions so that no single transaction exceeds $10,000.  Structuring involves the repeated depositing of amounts of cash less than the $10,000 limit, or the splitting of a cash transaction that exceeds $10,000 into smaller cash transactions in an effort to avoid the reporting requirements.  Even if the deposited funds are derived from a legitimate means, financial transactions conducted in this manner are still in violation of federal criminal law.

As alleged in the indictment, on April 27 and April 30, 2007, BOND made eight cash deposits in amounts ranging from $9,500 to $10,000 into the same account of another person at various branches of Citizens Bank in Durham, Middletown and Cromwell, Connecticut.  The indictment alleges that BOND knew that the bank was required to issue a report for a transaction in excess of $10,000, and that he intended to evade the transaction reporting requirements.

The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of $79,100 that BOND is alleged to have structured.

If convicted, BOND faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of up to $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Dannehy stressed that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is entitled to a fair trial at which it is the Government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case has been investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter S. Jongbloed.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov