Two sons of a former Philippine military official have pleaded guilty in federal court in San Francisco to charges of smuggling a total of $100,000 in cash into San Francisco International Airport seven years ago.
Juan Paulo Garcia, 29, of Pontiac, Mich., and Ian Carl Garcia, 32, of Las Vegas, Nev., each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Marilyn Patel on Wednesday to a charge of smuggling bulk currency for the purpose of evading reporting requirements.
The two men are sons of retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, who was formerly comptroller of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag said the elder Garcia was recently convicted in the Philippines of perjury for misstating his assets and liabilities in 2000.
Each of the two sons admitted in court documents to individually smuggling $50,000 in his carry-on luggage on a flight from Manila to San Francisco International Airport on Dec. 18, 2003.
Federal law requires travelers bringing more than $10,000 in cash into the United States to report the amount to the U.S. Treasury Department.
Haag said, “This prosecution demonstrates our determination to combat and deter bulk cash smuggling, which is often a means of moving ill-gotten gains into the United States.”
Patel will sentence the two men on Nov. 29.
Under a plea agreement, the two men will forfeit the $100,000 to the U.S. government and prosecutors will recommend a sentence of time already served following their arrests in February 2009, Haag said.
The time already served consists of three months and 10 days in prison and one and one-half years on electronic monitoring.
A December 2008 grand jury indictment alleged that Juan Garcia carried $50,000 in envelopes inside a jacket in his carry-on luggage, while Ian Garcia hid envelopes containing another $50,000 inside a pair of shoes in his carry-on bag and in an inside pocket of the luggage.
