10th Cir. Crim. Pattern Jury Instr. 2.96

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS 31 U.S.C. § 5324(a)(3)

The defendant is charged in count ————— with a violation

of 31 U.S.C. section 5324(a)(3).

This law makes it a crime to [structure] [attempt to structure]

[assist in structuring] any transaction with one or more domestic

financial institutions in order to evade the reporting requirements

of 31 U.S.C. section 5313(a).

Section 5313(a) and its implementing regulations require

the filing of a government form called a Currency Transaction

Report (CTR). Those regulations require that every domestic

financial institution that engages in a currency transaction of over

$10,000 must file a report with the Internal Revenue Service. The

institution must furnish, among other things, the identity and

address of the person engaging in the transaction, the person or

entity, if any, for whom he is acting, and the amount of the

currency transaction. The Currency Transaction Report must be

filed within 15 days of the transaction.

T o fi n d t h e d e f e n d a n t g u i l t y o f t h i s c r i m e y o u m u s t b e

convinced that the government has proved each of the following

beyond a reasonable doubt:

First: the defendant knowingly [structured] [attempted to

structure] [assisted in structuring] a currency transaction;

Second: the defendant knew of the domestic financial

institution’s legal obligation to report transactions in excess of

$10,000; and

Third: the purpose of the structured transaction was to evade

that reporting obligation.

[Fourth: the defendant violated this law while violating

another law of the United States, specifically [describe the law

mentioned in the indictment] as part of a pattern of illegal activity

involving more than $100,000 in a 12-month period.]

A person structures a transaction if that person, acting alone

or with others, conducts one or more currency transactions in any

amount, at one or more financial institutions, on one or more days,

for the purpose of evading the reporting requirements described

earlier. Structuring includes breaking down a single sum of

currency exceeding $10,000 into smaller sums, or conducting a

PATTERN CRIMINAL JURY INSTRUCTIONS

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series of currency transactions, including transactions at or below

$10,000. Illegal structuring can exist even if no transaction

exceeded $10,000 at any single financial institution on any single

day.

It is not necessary for the government to prove that a

defendant knew that structuring a transaction to avoid triggering

the filing requirements was itself illegal. The government must

prove beyond a reasonable doubt only that a defendant

[structured] [assi sted in structuring] [attempted to structure]

currency transactions with knowledge of the reporting

requirements and with the specific intent to avoid said reporting

requirements.