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Press Release

Springfield Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Structuring Financial Transactions

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Missouri

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Springfield, Mo., business owner has pleaded guilty in federal court to structuring financial transactions in an effort to evade federal reporting requirements.

 

Douglas Gooch, 55, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush on Thursday, April 22, 2016, to structuring financial transactions to evade federal reporting requirements. Gooch owns and operates a wholesale business selling antiques, jewelry and coins in Springfield. Gooch purchases and sells antiques, jewelry and coins.

 

Gooch made 18 withdrawals from his bank account between June 29 and Nov. 1, 2011. Each withdrawal was for an amount under $10,000. Most withdrawals were made on consecutive days or within days of each other and most withdrawals were for $9,000. Collectively, if the withdrawals were conducted as one financial transaction, the amount of the single withdrawal would total $137,200.

 

Under federal law, any financial institution that engages in a currency transaction (such as a deposit or withdrawal) in excess of $10,000 with a customer must report the transaction to the Department of the Treasury by filing a Currency Transaction Report. Gooch admitted to bank personnel that his withdrawals were purposely done in amounts under $10,000 in order to avoid filing a Currency Transaction Report.

 

Gooch also admitted that he made 10 withdrawals from his credit union account between July 25 and Oct. 6, 2015. Each withdrawal was for an amount under $10,000. Collectively, if the withdrawals were conducted as one financial transaction, the amount of the single withdrawal would total $85,000.

 

In total, during the two time periods in which Gooch knew of the Currency Transaction Report threshold and expressed his desire to withdraw monies in amounts that evaded this reporting requirement, Gooch’s structured withdrawals totaled $222,200.

 

Under federal statutes, Gooch is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

Updated April 22, 2016