A Marion businessman who structured up to $200,000 in cash in 11 months was sentenced on August 24, 2011, to 24 months in federal prison.

Terry Neal, age 41, from Ely, Iowa, received the sentence after a March 8, 2011, guilty plea to one count of structuring monetary transactions and one count of willfully failing to file a currency transaction reporting form. Neal’s company, Neal Enterprises of Marion, Iowa, entered a guilty plea on March 2, 2011, to one count of structuring monetary transactions.

According to information disclosed in court, on October 9, 2008, an undercover officer purchased a vehicle from Neal for $10,400 cash. Neal thought the undercover officer was a drug distributor, so he failed to report the cash sale in excess of $10,000 on a currency transaction reporting form. Neal then wrote up the sale for less than $10,000 in cash and structured the cash into his business bank account. Neal engaged in a pattern of structuring of up to $200,000 in 11 months.

Terry Neal and Neal Enterprises were sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade.

Terry Neal was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment and fined $25,000. A special assessment of $200 was imposed. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Neal Enterprises was sentenced to 5 years’ probation and fined $100,000. The company was also ordered to forfeit $312,000 and pay a $400 special assessment.

Terry Neal was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the United States Bureau of Prisons at a future date.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew J. Cole and investigated by the United States Internal Revenue Service Division of Criminal Investigation, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Iowa Fusion Center.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file numbers are CR 11-41 and CR 11-42.

 

 

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