95 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 6657, 95 Daily Journal D.A.R. 11,397 United States of America v. Young Ho Kim, United States of America v. Jeong Suk Kim

Appellants Young Ho Kim and Jeong Suk Kim appeal their convictions for conspiracy to “structure” cash transactions in violation of the Currency Transaction Reporting Act. See 18 U.S.C. § 371 ; 31 U.S.C. § 5324 (a)(3). The Act makes it illegal to structure transactions — i.e., break up a single cash transaction above the reporting threshold into two or more separate transactions — for the purpose of evading a requirement that financial institutions file reports with the Secretary of the Treasury for all cash transactions in excess of $10,000. 31 U.S.C. § 5324 . “A person willfully violating” this provision is subject to criminal penalties. 31 U.S.C. § 5322 . We reverse the Kims’ conviction and remand to the district court for further proceedings.

I. Facts and Proceedings

Young Ho Kim and his wife Jeong Suk Kim (“Mr. and Mrs. Kim,” collectively the “Kims”) came to the United States from Korea in 1977. The first job they held was selling puka shell jewelry from a cart in Waikiki. In the following ten years they bought and sold various retail interests and eventually expanded their operations to three stores located at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. In the course of business the Kims…