PITTSBURGH, PA- A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to a charge of structuring transactions to evade currency transaction reporting requirements, and was sentenced in federal court to time served, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Ashani Ishmael Levy, 22, a Jamaican national who had been detained since his arrest on Nov. 21, 2018. According to the information presented to the court, from July 17, 2018 to Nov. 14, 2018, Levy possessed in excess of $10,000 in United States currency, and transferred the funds through 23 separate wire transactions at Western Union and MoneyGram, each in an amount of less than $1,000, in order to prevent the financial institutions from filing a Currency Transaction Report with the federal government, as required. The wire transfers totaled $14,955.
Levy will be turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement who lodged a detainer at the time of his arrest because he had overstayed his tourist visa.
Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Levy.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
