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View Full Version : MI- 78 y/o woman loses $41,000 to TSA and ICE




Anti Federalist
08-10-2014, 10:29 AM
No charges filed, but that money is gone forever.

Sorry it took 78 years to find out who the real crooks are, Miss Victoria...


A Florida woman was allegedly caught carrying almost $41,000 through customs, with much of the cash reportedly hidden in her undergarments.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/money-hidden-bra-girdle-seized-customs-officers/story?id=24907440

A Florida woman was allegedly caught carrying almost $41,000 through customs, with much of the cash reportedly hidden in her undergarments.

Victoria Faren, 78, and her daughter were stopped April 2 while trying to board a flight to the Philippines out of the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, federal court records indicate.

The court records, filed Friday, recount the strange incident, during which customs agents discovered the elderly woman allegedly attempting to smuggle the cash through airport security.

When Faren and her daughter were first asked by officers how much money they were carrying, Faren reportedly said she was carrying $200. Her daughter reported carrying $1,200.

Records indicate Faren later reported carrying $1,200 on a written declaration, a figure change that made officials suspicious.

Federal law requires travelers to declare to customs authorities if they are carrying more than $10,000 in cash.

Faren allegedly first denied carrying anything other than the $1,200 she had written down, but an initial inspection of her bag reportedly yielded $8,000 stashed in various wallets. Officers again asked the woman if she was carrying any more cash.

“No, this is all the money,” said Faren, according to court records.

After a closer examination, officers allegedly found an additional $4,000 sewed into a cloth pouch and $977 hidden in sealed envelopes.

A total of $12,977 had reportedly been found in her carry-on bag alone, according to the court documents.

Records indicate Faren then admitted to officers that she was carrying $3,000 in her blouse and $2,000 sewn into her bra strap.

When Faren reportedly told officers she had no more cash on her, they conducted a pat-down search, and “detected a bulge near [Faren’s] buttocks,” court records indicate.

Faren then reportedly removed $5,000 from the back of her girdle and told officers that she hadn’t been carrying any more.

An officer then discovered another bulge in the front of Faren’s girdle, which is when the woman began to cry and admitted to carrying more cash -- $21,000 was hidden in her girdle alone, according to the report.

Records indicate Faren had been carrying a total of $40,977, which she allegedly said she had received after selling her home to her son for $120,000.

The woman reportedly said she had been carrying the cash herself because she believed it would be safer than wiring the money to the Philippines.

Faren’s daughter, who lives with the older woman, told officers that she had no idea her mother had been carrying so much cash, and that “her mother was old,” court records indicate.

No charges were placed, but officers seized the $40,977 as “currency forfeitable to the United States.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Gjon Juncaj is petitioning to have the cash forfeited to the government.

Victoria Faren, Gjon Juncaj, and a representative from the Customs and Border Control could not be immediately reached for comment.

aGameOfThrones
08-10-2014, 10:36 AM
The woman reportedly said she had been carrying the cash herself because she believed it would be safer than wiring the money to the Philippines.

and now you know.

Anti Federalist
08-10-2014, 10:38 AM
and now you know.

A-yup...

muh_roads
08-10-2014, 07:25 PM
If she put it in Bitcoin before traveling, she could've accessed her money from any computer in the world after arriving at her destination without any thieving aristocrat knowing about it.

Chester Copperpot
08-10-2014, 07:39 PM
I knew of a woman who did this with $100,000 many years ago because she was buying a house in poland and they didnt have mortgages there.. you either bought in cash or you didnt buy.

idiom
08-10-2014, 08:06 PM
If she put it in Bitcoin before traveling, she could've accessed her money from any computer in the world after arriving at her destination without any thieving aristocrat knowing about it.

+/- 10%

And assuming the 78 year old woman has an NSA free magic computer terminal.

mad cow
08-10-2014, 08:15 PM
If she put it in Bitcoin before traveling, she could've accessed her money from any computer in the world after arriving at her destination without any thieving aristocrat knowing about it.

Perhaps,but the thing to aim for is having anybody be able to travel with 41K in bitcoin,silver,gold,Swiss francs or dollars without worrying about uniformed highwaymen seizing it at gunpoint.

And to think that was the law of the land not too long ago. :(

jjdoyle
08-10-2014, 08:24 PM
She's old. Probably worried the money would get stolen, or be targeted if she said how much. And now, her worst worry (probably), has come true because of the fine, upstanding, public servants running the bureaucracies atrocities in Washington D.C.

Carson
08-10-2014, 08:25 PM
Must be some of that free trade they talk about?

TheTexan
08-10-2014, 08:36 PM
When Faren and her daughter were first asked by officers how much money they were carrying, Faren reportedly said she was carrying $200.
...
No charges were placed

She lied to a federal officer. She's very lucky the officers didn't press charges.

Besides, who hides $41,000 in their undergarments? Terrorists, drug dealers, money launderers, and people who otherwise have something to hide.

Had she simply declared the correct amount of money and followed policy like a law abiding citizen should, she wouldn't have found herself in this mess. But if you do that, you have to state where the money comes from. Clearly she didn't want to do that. The money was therefore clearly illicit of some kind, and therefore it belongs to the US government.

Anti Federalist
08-10-2014, 08:39 PM
She lied to a federal officer. She's very lucky the officers didn't press charges.

Besides, who hides $41,000 in their undergarments? Terrorists, drug dealers, money launderers, and people who otherwise have something to hide.

Had she simply declared the correct amount of money and followed policy like a law abiding citizen should, she wouldn't have found herself in this mess. But if you do that, you have to state where the money comes from. Clearly she didn't want to do that. The money was therefore clearly illicit of some kind, and therefore it belongs to the US government.

I'm just glad the brave officers are OK after confronting this dangerous and hardened criminal.

KCIndy
08-10-2014, 08:46 PM
Records indicate Faren had been carrying a total of $40,977, which she allegedly said she had received after selling her home to her son for $120,000.

The woman reportedly said she had been carrying the cash herself because she believed it would be safer than wiring the money to the Philippines.



Too bad she wasn't aware that the U.S. Federal government is a much nastier, greedier gang of thieves than any she would be likely to run into in the Philippines. :(

jjdoyle
08-10-2014, 08:49 PM
I'm just glad the brave officers are OK after confronting this dangerous and hardened criminal.

I just hope the money can be used to pay down the national debt. Or, maybe we can just send this money directly to Israel for continued Iron Dome funding?

TheTexan
08-10-2014, 08:51 PM
I just hope the money can be used to pay down the national debt. Or, maybe we can just send this money directly to Israel for continued Iron Dome funding?

Hopefully the customs agents get to keep the money for their department's budget. They certainly earned it.

NorthCarolinaLiberty
08-10-2014, 08:53 PM
But, but, everybody knows that only uncivilized third world countries are corrupt!

jjdoyle
08-10-2014, 08:54 PM
Hopefully the customs agents get to keep the money for their department's budget. They certainly earned it.

I kind of question their competency, for even reporting the issue. Have they not learned how to simply make the problem, "disappear". They should be fired for being incompetent in that respect.

oyarde
08-10-2014, 09:04 PM
I usually just declare 10 0r $11 in face value .

muh_roads
08-10-2014, 09:23 PM
Perhaps,but the thing to aim for is having anybody be able to travel with 41K in bitcoin,silver,gold,Swiss francs or dollars without worrying about uniformed highwaymen seizing it at gunpoint.

Fuck them. This cow is tired of asking its farmer for permission.

Henry Rogue
08-10-2014, 09:33 PM
Like taking candy from a baby.

Mani
08-10-2014, 10:24 PM
This is absolutely heartbreaking.

I've been to the Philippines. There is so much friggin poverty there. There's a ton of beauty, we've gone on family vacations there, and there are gorgeous malls that out due some American malls. We sometimes refer to it as an Asian America (everyone speaks English and the American influence is there). There are pockets of modernization and beauty, and yet there is so much poverty.

The people working there make next to nothing. Some Filipinos with University degrees go abroad and make 5+ times their income as lowly maids.

People in Philippines work all month long in a low paying job such as a cashier or waitress and make $100+ USD a month. A lot of people living in Philippines depend on family who make it abroad and send money home.


And BTW those people with the cashier job, they are super thankful for that $100/month job. It's not easy to get those. To get a job there, you need to have all these crazy ass certifications for every single job. And the paperwork and processing time can take a year, just for a friggin nonskilled job. It's not like the US, you can walk into a MCDonalds tomorrow and start working at minimum wage. Nah, it take lots of bureaucratic paperwork, or paying someone to makeup paperwork (if you have money).

So ya, the people making $100/month are the"lucky" ones.

There are a ton of families waiting for loved ones from abroad to send back money so they can eat or pay their rent. And these people don't have insurance, so when a Typhoon or earthquake or flood takes their home away, they are homeless. They would depend on family abroad to help send money to rebuild.




And there is corruption, cops take bribes, custom agents take bribes, everybody takes a bribe. And I'm sure this old lady is just old school, knowing that everyone takes a bribe and everyone wants a piece, and doesn't trust technology, she went old school and hid stuff in her bra and clothes. My grandma even hid cash in her bra.

A lot of Filipinos save up their cash and send it home, or take it with them and bring it home. Many keep it in their mattresses and stuff, they are old school.

And now thanks to the TSA, there could be hundreds of mouths that won't be fed. There maybe homes that were ruined via earthquake or typhoon that won't be built. Families may remain homeless and starving thanks to their actions.

This is fucking heartbreaking. At least a immigration officer could probably be paid off in Philippines and not take the whole thing.

I'm so fucking sick right now, that money could have benefited so many poor people. Of course I can't tell you what the money is for, but I've been dealing with various Filipino people every day for the last 4 years, and I know how much a part of their culture it is to send or bring money back home and how much devastating poverty is in that country.

I've met hundreds of Filipinos, and they all do it. They all have someone in need. I've been there, I've seen poverty at a level that we can't even comprehend. When I can't finish my food at a fast food restaurant, I've had a small 4 to 5 year old child run up to me and hungrily finish a half eaten chicken piece I was ready to throw away. I was almost in tears and numb for the next hour after that. My friend was asking me what's wrong but didn't understand that I was numb realizing I fucking throw food away like it's nothing and these kids are starving. How fucked up is that!?! Your parents can tell you at the dinner table, you can read about it, you can see it on TV. But when you walk up to a small starving hungry child and they eat something you were thinking to throw away, it will fuck you in the head.

Our kid's school is always doing donations and shipping stuff off to the Philippines. There's so much poverty, there's so much need. And yet these TSA fucks are ready to grab money from an old lady who's culture it is to feed and help in on of the poorest countries with millions of starving mouths, and these sickos decide to keep it for themselves? It feels like I got punched in the gut. Fuck. I can't even comprehend how horrible that phone call will be when that old lady calls the Philippines to tell her family members all the money is gone.

Warrior_of_Freedom
08-11-2014, 11:06 AM
It's not like the US, you can walk into a MCDonalds tomorrow and start working at minimum wage. Nah, it take lots of bureaucratic paperwork, or paying someone to makeup paperwork (if you have money).


It's not like that in the U.S. anymore, you have to practically beg to get hired for minimum wage for a lot of companies now, or get told to fuck off and go to their website to make an account for that one single job, fill out a 200 question survey, and hope you get hired sometime this quarter.