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Prosecutors drop effort to seize Iowa restaurant’s cash

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December 14th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Federal prosecutors are dropping an effort to seize nearly $33,000 from an Iowa restaurant owner’s bank account. The New York Times reports the IRS became suspicious of Carole Hinders because of a pattern of cash deposits of less than $10,000. Hinders says the cash came from her Mexican restaurant, Mrs. Lady’s, in Arnold’s Park, Iowa, that doesn’t accept credit cards.

Hinders wasn’t accused of a crime, but federal law makes it illegal to deposit less than $10,000 if it is part of an attempt to circumvent federal reporting requirements. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Cole said in a motion filed Saturday the case should be dropped to conserve judicial resources.

Cole says evidence showed that Hinders had skirted bank reporting rules, but he decided the case wasn’t worth pursuing now.