United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov

February 29, 2008

WEST HARTFORD MAN WHO STRUCTURED CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS IS SENTENCED

Kevin J. O’Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JAMES BERGEN, 58, of West Hartford, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Peter C. Dorsey in New Haven to 18 months of probation for structuring currency transactions to evade reporting requirements. Judge Dorsey also ordered BERGEN to pay a fine in the amount of $500 and to perform 150 hours of community service. BERGEN pleaded guilty to the offense on December 13, 2007.

According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, in March 2006, BERGEN engaged in a series of 11 currency transactions in amounts less than $10,000. He deposited cash into his Capital Region Federal Credit Union account in amounts ranging from $9,200 to $9,975 after cashing checks at the Bank of America’s Albany Avenue branch office in West Hartford where he did not have an account. For example, BERGEN deposited $9,700 on March 13, $9,900 on March 14, $9,975 on March 15, $9,200 on March 16, and $9,400 on March 17. BERGEN knew that the bank was required to issue a report for a currency transaction in excess of $10,000 and, by conducting his financial transactions in amounts less than $10,001, BERGEN intended to evade the transaction reporting requirements.

Federal law requires all financial institutions to file a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) for currency transactions that exceed $10,000. To evade the filing of a CTR, individuals will often structure their currency transactions so that no single transaction exceeds $10,000. Structuring involves the repeated depositing of amounts of cash less than the $10,000 limit, or the splitting of a cash transaction that exceeds $10,000 into smaller cash transactions in an effort to avoid the reporting requirements. Even if the deposited funds are derived from a legitimate means, financial transactions conducted in this manner are still in violation of federal criminal law.

BERGEN is a former police officer for the Town of West Hartford and a former inspector for the State of Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter S. Jongbloed.