Beltran

MEMORANDUM *

While attempting to cross the border into Mexico, Fidel Beltran was arrested and charged with violating 31 U.S.C. §§ 5316 and 5332 and 18 U.S.C. § 1001 . He was convicted by a jury on all three counts. He appeals; we reverse.

Title 31 U.S.C. § 5316 proscribes an individual from willfully failing to file a report declaring the amount of money in his possession whenever he departs from the United States transporting more than $10,000. Section 5316 is not a strict liability crime. In order to violate § 5316, Beltran had to know how the $10,000 was calculated because if he did not understand he was transporting more than $10,000 under § 5316, he could not have willfully failed to file a report. Specifically, he had to know that he was required to aggregate the funds he and his wife were carrying for the purpose of determining whether he was carrying more than $10,000, thereby triggering the reporting requirement.

There is no evidence Beltran knew he was required to aggregate the funds at the time he was asked for his binding declaration at the border. The United States Customs Agent individually advised each of the passengers in the car, including Beltran, that it was…