A suspect who owned a business that imported edible delicacies was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for undervaluing the imported Asian delicacy in documentation provided to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The suspect pleaded guilty to structuring financial transactions to avoid reporting requirements and four counts of failure to pay federal income taxes and smuggling goods into the United States.
The suspect’s relatives also pleaded guilty to failure to file tax returns and to structuring financial transactions to avoid reporting requirements. They were each sentenced to 2 years’ probation and one of the relatives was ordered to pay restitution.
During a 3-year period, the suspect submitted numerous false invoices that undervalued shipments of the delicacies. The suspect admitted to structuring cash deposits totaling more than $1 million that he received from the sale of the food.
This case originated with the filing of a Suspicious Activity Report and was investigated by Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.
(Source: Internal Revenue Service)