MANILA — A highly-placed source from the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said Marissa Tadeo Lapid has broken Philippine laws when she failed to declare the foreign currency she brought with her to the USA since 2009 until she was caught at the Las Vegas airport in 2011.
According to the BOC source, Mrs. Lapid, wife of Senator Lito Lapid, violated Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Circular 98-1995 which states among others that: “the carrying of foreign currency in excess of US$10,000 or its equivalent in other foreign currencies must be declared to a Customs Officer or the BSP” upon arrival or prior to departure. Violation of this rule may lead to “seizure and sanctions, fines and/or penalties.”
Mrs. Lapid was arrested on Nov. 27, 2010 at the McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.
She reportedly tried to smuggle in US$40,000 in cash and P10,000 at the airport. A search of her luggage yielded two socks containing $10,000 each and another $20,000 was recovered inside a cloth bag.
When she was arrested, Mrs. Lapid reportedly remarked, “I’m sorry, it’s for my house.” But back here in Manila, Sen. Lapid told the media that the money was intended for her “medical treatment.”
It was reported that Mrs. Lapid was charged before US District Court Magistrate Judge Peggy Leen of Las Vegas in Nevada with a count each of cash bulk smuggling and conspiracy to structure transactions to evade reporting requirements. Mrs. Lapid did not contest the charges.
On Feb. 5, she was convicted by a US district court and was sentenced to three years in probation, including five months home confinement, a $40,000 fine, and forfeiture of $159,700.
It was established that “Mrs. Lapid committed to structure cash deposits by separating a single deposit above the reporting threshold of $10,000 into two or more separate deposits for the purpose of evading her banks’ reporting requirements.
These banks are legally required since 1996 to report to the federal government cash deposits that were above $10,000, “the reporting threshold,” by making the so-called currency transaction report (CTR) when a depositor makes a deposit.
But to avoid reporting, Mrs. Lapid used a scheme which involves breaking larger amount into two or more amounts that were less than the original amount and deposited them into multiple bank accounts, often on the same day.
According to the indictment, Mrs. Lapid on Jan. 5, 2009, deposited $5,700 cash at a Las Vegas branch of J. P. Morgan Chase Bank, a domestic financial institution.
Two days later, on Jan. 7, 2009, Mrs. Lapid deposited another $5,700 cash into the same bank account.
On or about April 8, 2009, Mrs. Lapid deposited $9,000 cash at a Las Vegas branch of Bank of America.
On April 8, 2009, Mrs. Lapid deposited another $9,000 cash at a Las Vegas branch of Wells Fargo Bank.
On May 11, 2009, she made another deposit of $9,000 cash at the Las Vegas Bank of America.
On the same day, Mrs. Lapid deposited $9,000 cash at a Las Vegas Wells Fargo Bank.
A week later, on May 18, 2009, Mrs. Lapid deposited $6,000 cash at Las Vegas Bank of America; $8,000 cash and $6,000 cash in Las Vegas JP Morgan and in Las Vegas Wells Fargo Bank of America.
On July 20, 2009, she deposited $8,000 cash at Las Vegas JP Morgan Chase Bank; the following day, she made another $9,000 cash deposit into the same bank account.
On Dec. 23, 2009, Mrs. Lapid deposited $5,000 cash each separately at Bank of America and at Las Vegas JP Morgan Chase Bank.
And on June 7, 2010, five months before she was arrested, Mrs. Lapid deposited $9,000 cash at JP Morgan Chase Bank at Las Vegas.
It was also reported that the US government forfeited all the property, real or personal, involved in the offense, and any property traceable to such property, including the $40,000 confiscated from Mrs. Lapid during her November 2010 arrival, and the monies she deposited in her bank accounts to the tune of $159,700.
Mrs. Lapid has four children with the senator, the eldest of whom is former Pampanga Gov. Mark T. Lapid, now the general manager of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Authority under the Department of Tourism, and the youngest, Maynard, who is running for a seat in the municipal council of Porac, Pampanga.
