Ameika Gray, Structuring Deposits, Maryland 2012

A Baltimore car dealer was sentenced to 30 months in prison for structuring bank deposits to evade reporting requirements.

Ameika Gray, 39, of Baltimore, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander for structuring bank deposits totaling over $2 million over a two-year period to avoid bank reporting requirements.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Kelly of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.

According to his plea, Gray owns Network Auto Group, a car dealership operating at 2631 Gwynns Falls Parkway in Baltimore. Between January 15, 2010 and April 28, 2012, Gray made regular deposits of $10,000 or just under $10,000 into his personal and business bank accounts, including at least 25 instances in which Gray made multiple deposits under $10,000 the same day into the same bank or into different banks.

The amount of the structured deposits over this two-year period totaled $2,017,205.23. Gray deposited the money in such amounts because he knew that the banks were required to report to the Internal Revenue Service all deposits over $10,000.

The government presented evidence to the court that the cash that Gray structured was the proceeds of drug trafficking activity.

Gray was also ordered to forfeit $800,000, a Mercedes Benz vehicle, and three residential properties located in Baltimore.

This sentence is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.

Gray was sentenced to 30 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release.

Related Federal Cases