RIVERVIEW, FL. – A 23-year-old Riverview man was sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to cash smuggling charges.
U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. sentenced Kadeem Jamal Roman, 23, Riverview to 10 months in federal prison followed by 1 year of supervised release for bulk cash smuggling.
The court also ordered Roman to forfeit $49,519, which is traceable to the proceeds of the offense.
Roman had pleaded guilty on May 24, 2021.
According to court documents, on November 3, 2020, at Orlando International Airport, officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspected one of Roman’s checked bags and discovered a small, clear plastic, vacuum-sealed bag containing a green leafy substance, which appeared to be marijuana.
The CBP officers proceeded to the jet bridge to conduct an interview with Roman, who was already on board a flight destined for Montego Bay, Jamaica. Roman was asked to exit the aircraft with his carry-on bags. Roman failed to retrieve all of his belongings and was escorted back on the plane to retrieve his backpack.
Roman advised that he was traveling with approximately $9,000 in U.S. currency and provided a written declaration declaring approximately $8,000 to $9,000 in U.S. currency.
The CBP agents verified that Roman was traveling with $9,519 in U.S. currency. Thereafter officers inspected Roman’s backpack which contained two large magazines with some unusually thick and stiff pages.
A more detailed examination of the magazines revealed that some of the pages were glued together. Once the pages were peeled open, the officers found carbon paper with U.S. currency secreted inside.
Both magazines yielded eight bundles of $2,500 in U.S. currency, totaling $40,000. In total, CBP seized $49,519 in cash from Roman.
“HSI special agents, along with U.S Customs and Border Protection Officers, remain committed to combatting currency smuggling, illicit value transfer and cross-border crimes that seek to undermine our financial systems,” said HSI Orlando Assistant Special Agent in Charge David Pezzutti.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Beatriz Gonzalez and Emily Chang.
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