Contact: James Chapman
Assistant U.S. Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced today that Habib
Munye, 51, of Portland, was convicted in U.S. District Court in Portland, following a three-day bench trial
before Judge George Z. Singal, for structuring over $530,000 in cash transactions to evade federal cash
transaction reporting requirements.

Under federal law, financial institutions that receive more than $10,000 in cash from a customer
are required to report the transaction to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Financial institutions must
also record certain information and verify the identity of anyone who uses cash to purchase $3,000 or
more worth of money orders on the same day. Structuring occurs when a customer breaks up their cash
transactions into multiple increments of less than $10,000 or $3,000, to avoid these cash transaction
reporting requirements.

According to court records and trial evidence, Munye was a licensed money transmitter who
served as the local agent for Dahabshil, an international money transfer company. Between April of
2009 and February of 2010, Munye structured 39 cash deposits into his bank account to avoid the
bank’s currency transaction reporting requirement by converting some of his cash into money orders
before he made his deposits. On 16 occasions, Munye also structured the purchase of money orders by
purchasing several $500 or $1,000 money orders at multiple locations, but never purchasing more than
$2,000 at the same location during the same transaction.

Munye faces a sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $500,000 on each
count. He will be sentenced after completion of a pre-sentence report by the United States Probation
Office.

This case was investigated by the IRS, Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Postal
Inspection Service, with assistance from the respective Offices of Inspector General of the U.S.
Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture and Health and Human Services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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