Woodside Resident Pleads Guilty To Structuring Financial Transactions To Evade Reporting Requirements

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Per Alftin pleaded guilty today to structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Batdorf.  The plea follows the June 3, 2016, filing in federal court charging Alftin with circumventing the federal reporting requirement. 

According to the plea agreement, Alftin, 51, of Woodside, admitted to using structured transactions to transfer at least $1,493,500 of cash from the gross receipts of his company, Alftin Construction, between 2009 and 2012.  Specifically, Alftin admitted knowing that the banks he used had an obligation to report certain transactions in excess of $10,000, and that he sought to prevent such reports by structuring transactions to avoid the $10,000 threshold.  Alftin drew more than $100,000 in cash from his business’s gross receipts in structured transactions during each year from 2009 through 2012 for a total of $1,493,500 during the entire period. 

Alftin was charged in an Information with a single count of structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements, in violation of 31 U.S.C.  § 5324(a)(3).  Pursuant to today’s agreement, Alftin pleaded guilty to that count.  Alftin is scheduled to appear on October 7, 2016, at 11:00 am before the Honorable Susan Ilston, U.S. District Judge for sentencing. 

The maximum penalty for a violation of 31 U.S.C. § 5324(a)(3), is ten years’ imprisonment and a fine of $500,000.  In addition, a fine and a term of supervised release may be imposed; however, any sentence following this conviction will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Assistant US Attorney Michael G. Pitman is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.