Burlington county, n.J., woman indicted on structuring charges
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
June 1, 2012 |
NEWARK, N.J. – A Burlington County, N.J., woman was indicted today by a federal grand jury for allegedly structuring more than $700,000 in cash deposits into 13 bank accounts at five different banks, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Sandra Mastoris, 57, of Chesterfield, N.J., was charged by Indictment with one count of structuring in connection with hundreds of cash deposits below the $10,000 amount that requires the filing of a Cash Transaction Report (“CTR”) with the IRS.
According to the Indictment:
By the beginning of 2008, Mastoris had accumulated a cash hoard of $900,000. In the years 2008 and 2009 she made cash deposits of portions of that cash hoard into 13 different accounts at five different banks. Between May 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2009, Mastoris made more than 200 cash deposits in amounts of less than $10,000 into accounts at JPMorganChase, Bank of America, PNC Bank, Sovereign Bank and Grand Bank. Cash deposits of more than $10,000 trigger a bank’s requirement to file a CTR.
CTR forms require disclosure of the identity of the individual who conducted the transaction and the individual or entity for whom the transaction was completed. Taking active steps to cause financial institutions to fail to file CTRs in order to avoid detection of the movement of large mounts of U.S. currency is called “structuring,” and involves making multiple cash deposits or withdrawals in amounts less than $10,000 on the same day or consecutive days in order to avoid the filing of CTRs. Structuring cash transactions in order to avoid the filing of a CTR is prohibited by law.
The one-count Indictment charges that Mastoris structured more than $700,000 in total and that she structured over $100,000 within a 12-month period between June 27, 2008, and June 27, 2009. The structuring count with which she is charged is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $500,000.
The charges and allegations contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge JoAnn S. Zuniga in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s indictment.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bohdan Vitvitsky of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit.
12-211
Defense Counsel: Jacob Laufer Esq., New York, and John Azzarello Esq., Chatham, NJ
