U.S. Department of Justice
A check cashing business in Kansas City, Kan., has been fined $15,000 for failing to make currency transaction reports required by federal law, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
Livingstone, Inc., a Kansas corporation doing business as Lee’s Check Cashing in Kansas City, Kan., pleaded guilty to four counts of failing to file cash transaction reports.
Under the federal Bank Security Act, financial institutions are required to file a report for each transaction in currency of more than $10,000. They are required to aggregate multiple transactions conducted by the same person on the same day.
The owners of Lee’s Check Cashing, Ki Bong Yi and his wife, Sun Hee Yi, failed to make four reports in 2007 on transactions involving aggregates of $10,000 to $13,000 each.
A family representative told investigators that Livingstone had a high level of trust for its customers, who were honest, hard-working people.
In the plea, the company acknowledges that a perceived level of trust with customers does not constitute a legal justification for failing to comply with the Bank Security Act.
Grissom commended the Internal Revenue Service and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Smith for their work on the case.
