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Criminal Law Keyed to Gershowitz
Ratzlaf v. United States
Citation:
510 U.S. 135, 114 S.Ct. 655, 126 L.Ed.2d. 615Facts
Banks and financial institutions are required to file a report to the Secretary of the Treasury every time a cash transaction is over $10,000. The defendant accumulated a debt of $160,000 at the High Sierra Casino. Ratzlaf (defendant) took $100,000 to the casino in cash, instead of filing the proper report for a transaction over $10,000, Ratzlaf went to multiple banks to get cashier checks for under $10,000. Ratzlaf was charged with “‘structuring transactions’ to evade the banks’ obligation to report cash transactions exceeding $10,000; this conduct, the indictment alleged, violated 31 U.S.C. §§ 5322(a) and 5324(3).”
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