Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, DA YING, 56, of Beijing, China, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to engaging in a pattern of financial transactions to evade reporting requirements.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between April 2011 and March 2012, while he was a resident of Farmington, Conn., YING structured or caused to be structured 50 cash deposits in amounts less than $10,000.01 into his and his wife’s six accounts at four banks in Connecticut. The cash deposits, which totaled $464,400, were frequently made on the same day at different banks or on sequential days at the same or different banks. YING knew that banks were required to issue a report for a currency transaction in excess of $10,000, and his structuring activity was intended to evade the transaction reporting requirements.
Federal law requires all financial institutions to file a Currency Transaction Report (“CTR”) for currency transactions that exceed $10,000. To evade the filing of a CTR, individuals will often structure their currency transactions so that no single transaction exceeds $10,000. Structuring involves the repeated depositing or withdrawal of amounts of cash less than the $10,000.01 limit, or the splitting of a cash transaction that exceeds $10,000 into smaller cash transactions in an effort to avoid the reporting requirements. Even if the deposited funds are derived from a legitimate means, financial transactions conducted in this manner are still in violation of federal criminal law.
Judge Underhill scheduled sentencing for May 11, 2017, at which time YING faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to $500,000. YING was released pending sentencing.
As part of the resolution of this case, YING agreed to the civil forfeiture of $175,938 of the money he structured in Connecticut. He also agreed to pay the Internal Revenue Service $113,195 in unpaid federal taxes, plus penalties and interest for 2009, 2010 and 2011.
This matter has been investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division and Homeland Security Investigations, with the assistance of the Hartford and Stamford Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter S. Jongbloed.