8300 form

[miker75058]

I manage a retail store that is part of a chain. We have a few individuals that come in multiple times a week and purchase products with cash for just under $10,000. They go from store to store in the same day and purchase products for just under 10,000 at each location. We have reason to believe these individuals are shipping the products overseas for resale on the black market. My corporate office recently came out with e-mail stating that we are no longer required to have these individuals fill out the 8300 form as long as they spend under 10,000 in a 24 hour period, after 24 hours it is no longer considered a "related transaction." They say the transactions are legal and we can only have them fill out the form if we can prove exactly what illegal activity is occurring. They also say it is racial profiling because most of these individuals come from foreign countries. They say they consulted an attorney who told them it was legal but there is no official documentation of this from my corporate office, just a "trust us-it's legal." I refused to abide by this policy and my company threatened to fire me. A couple of days later they backed off and said I didn't have to do anything I thought was unethical. I think I am in the right here but I'd like the advice from a legal expert.

 

[LdiJ]

I manage a retail store that is part of a chain. We have a few individuals that come in multiple times a week and purchase products with cash for just under $10,000. They go from store to store in the same day and purchase products for just under 10,000 at each location. We have reason to believe these individuals are shipping the products overseas for resale on the black market. My corporate office recently came out with e-mail stating that we are no longer required to have these individuals fill out the 8300 form as long as they spend under 10,000 in a 24 hour period, after 24 hours it is no longer considered a "related transaction." They say the transactions are legal and we can only have them fill out the form if we can prove exactly what illegal activity is occurring. They also say it is racial profiling because most of these individuals come from foreign countries. They say they consulted an attorney who told them it was legal but there is no official documentation of this from my corporate office, just a "trust us-it's legal." I refused to abide by this policy and my company threatened to fire me. A couple of days later they backed off and said I didn't have to do anything I thought was unethical. I think I am in the right here but I'd like the advice from a legal expert.

What kind of products are they purchasing?

Corporate does have some valid concerns. It can be viewed as harassing and racial profiling to have them fill out forms they are not technically required to fill out. However you have valid concerns as well about the ethics of the situation, which is why I assumed they backed off.

 

[miker75058]

It's booze. Mainly high end cognac which is being shipped illegally overseas. An individual will come in and buy $9,900 worth of cognac, around 50 cases one day and buy $9,990 worth of cognac around 50 cases a few days later and so on and so on, all paid in cash. It's complicated now because it's booze. It's definitely organized crime. My company wants us to say "how do I know he didn't drink 50 cases of cognac in 24 hours?" Plus when we help load stuff in their vehicles we see all the booze they bought at other locations in the area.

 

[davew128]

So call ATF if you think its shady.

 

[LdiJ]

So call ATF if you think its shady.

I agree. That is the proper solution.

However, you neglected to tell us what state you are talking about. Many states have actual limits as to how much alcohol can be purchased by an individual at a single time.