July 18th, 2020

US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions
United States v. Suarez

Docket: 19-40783
Opinion Date: July 17, 2020
Judge: Stephen Andrew Higginson
Areas of Law: Criminal Law, White Collar Crime

Defendant was convicted of four counts of structuring financial transactions for the purpose of evading reporting requirements, a violation of 31 U.S.C. 5324(a)(3) and (d). The Fifth Circuit held that the Count 4 indictment fails to state an offense but, given the evidence introduced at trial, the defect is harmless. The court also held that the $52,042 forfeiture judgment is not excessive under the Eighth Amendment. In this case, defendant's offenses were intentional efforts to evade a reporting requirement, related to other criminal activity, conducted over a 27-month period, and the $52,042 forfeiture is a fraction of the statutory maximum and less than double the Guidelines maximum.

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