United States v. Tota

672 F. Supp. 716, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9477
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedSeptember 29, 1987
DocketNo. SS 87 Cr. 273
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 672 F. Supp. 716 (United States v. Tota) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Tota, 672 F. Supp. 716, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9477 (S.D.N.Y. 1987).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

CANNELLA, District Judge.

Defendants’ motion to dismiss the indictment is denied. Fed.R.Crim.P. 12(b).

BACKGROUND

On April 2, 1987, Joseph P. Tota and George B. Fahmy, former employees of the brokerage firm of Paine, Webber, Jackson & Curtis [“Paine, Webber”], were named in a two-count indictment alleging conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of justice. These charges stemmed from defendants’ activities as branch manager and operations manager, respectively, of a Paine, Webber branch office in mid[718]*718town Manhattan. Superseding indictments were returned on May 12 and July 7.

Tota began working as branch manager in June 1982. Fahmy began working as operations manager at the same branch office in March 1984. Gary Eder was a broker in the branch office and is named in the indictment as a conspirator, along with Tota and Fahmy. On March 19, 1987, Eder pled guilty before Judge Edmund L. Palmieri to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, and to one count of willfully causing Paine, Webber to fail to make and maintain certain financial records, in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 78q(a). United States v. Eder, 87 Cr. 196 (ELP).

The indictment describes a scheme whereby Eder received lump-sum cash payments from Paine, Webber customers, in amounts up to $72,000, for deposit into their accounts. Eder then broke down the payments into sums of less than $10,000 for (1) deposit into a customer’s account on different days; (2) deposit on the same day into different accounts controlled by the same customer; and (3) purchase of bank checks in an amount less than $10,000 for deposit, along with cash, into a customer’s account. As discussed more fully below, the indictment alleges that Eder, Tota and Fahmy conspired to “structure” these transactions in order to circumvent federal statutes and regulations requiring financial institutions to file reports of currency transactions, involving more than $10,000. Tota and Fahmy are also charged with conspiring with Eder to aid and abet violations of the reporting statutes by Paine, Webber.

DISCUSSION

A. The Indictment and Defendants’ Motion To Dismiss

Count one of the indictment alleges a conspiracy to defraud the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. The conspiracy allegedly had five objects: (1) to defraud the United States by impeding, impairing, obstructing and defeating the Government’s efforts to collect data on currency transactions, Indictment 115; (2) to cause Paine, Webber to fail to file reports of currency and other payments and transfers through and to such financial institution, involving a transaction in currency of more than $10,000, as part of a pattern of transactions involving more than $100,000 in a 12-month period, in violation of 31 U.S.C. § 5313(a) and regulations promulgated thereunder, 31 C.F.R. § 103.22, id. 116; (3) to cause Paine, Webber to fail to file reports of deposits of currency and other payments and transfers through and to such financial institution, involving a transaction in currency of more than $10,-000, also in violation of 31 U.S.C. § 5313(a) and 31 C.F.R. § 103.22, id. 117; (4) to cause Paine, Webber to fail to make and keep certain records of financial transactions, in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 78q(a) and 17 C.F. R. §§ 240.17a-3, 240.17a-4 and 240.17a-8, id. 118; and (5) to obstruct justice by destroying certain records during a grand jury investigation, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1503, id. H 9. Count two of the indictment charges obstruction of justice, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1503 and 18 U.S.C. § 2.1

Tota moves to dismiss the entire indictment, claiming that (1) the conspiracy count does not charge a crime under 31 U.S.C. § 5313, or in the alternative, that § 5313 is unconstitutional as applied to defendants; (2) the securities record-keeping object of the conspiracy count must be dismissed because Paine, Webber was not required to keep the information allegedly falsified;. and (3) the obstruction of justice object of the conspiracy count and the substantive obstruction of justice charge in count two are legally insufficient. Fahmy joins in the motion, except with respect to the obstruction of justice allegations in both counts.

[719]*719B. The Currency Transaction Reporting Requirements

The Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 5311-5322 [“the Act”], requires domestic financial institutions to make and maintain “certain reports or records [which] have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, or regulatory investigations or proceedings.” Id. § 5311. Section 5313(a) of the Act provides:

When a domestic financial institution is involved in a transaction for the payment, receipt, or transfer of United States coins or currency ... in an amount, denomination, or ... under any circumstances the Secretary prescribes by regulation, the institution and any other participant in the transactions the Secretary may prescribe shall file a report on the transaction at the time and in the way the Secretary prescribes.

31 U.S.C. § 5313(a). Criminal penalties for willful violations of the statute and regulations promulgated thereunder are set forth in 31 U.S.C. § 5322.

Pursuant to the above grant of authority, the Treasury Department issued the following regulation:

Each financial institution shall file a report of each deposit, withdrawal, exchange of currency or other payment or transfer, by, through, or to such financial institution, which involves a transaction in currency of more than $10,000.

31 C.F.R. § 103.22(a) (1984).

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Related

United States v. Scanio
705 F. Supp. 768 (W.D. New York, 1988)
United States v. Fahmy
847 F.2d 836 (Second Circuit, 1988)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
672 F. Supp. 716, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9477, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-tota-nysd-1987.