From the U.S. Attorney:

Chicago Man Sentenced to More Than a Year in Federal Prison for Illegally Structuring Nearly $350,000

CHICAGO — A Chicago man was sentenced today to 14 months in federal prison for illegally structuring nearly $350,000 in cash deposits in an effort to evade federal reporting requirements.

In 2015 and 2016, ANTUANE KING made at least 37 deposits of less than $10,000 each at seven financial institutions, including the Chicago Firefighters Credit Union.  

The deposits were structured in an effort to evade federal reporting rules, which require financial institutions to notify the U.S. Department of the Treasury about transactions of more than $10,000. 

After making all of the structured cash deposits, King later combined all of the money to purchase three residences in the south suburbs of Chicago.

A federal jury earlier this year convicted King, 49, on two counts of structuring a currency transaction.  U.S. District Judge Jorge L. Alonso imposed the sentence after a hearing in federal court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Tamera Cantu, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. 

“The structuring laws are in place for a good reason: they help law enforcement ferret out serious criminal activity that could otherwise go undetected,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher V. Parente and Esther S. Mignanelli argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. 

“The defendant knew he was committing a crime each time he went to a bank and structured the cash deposits.”