Woman pleads guilty to exporting $90,000

August 05, 2011 9:57 PM
By LAURA B. MARTINEZ/The Brownsville Herald

An 18-year-old Brownsville woman accused of trying to export more than $90,000 in cash to Mexico without declaring it has pleaded guilty to the federal charge.

Perla Alejandra Meza appeared Friday before U.S. Magistrate Andrew S. Hanen, where she entered a guilty plea to one count of intent to evade a currency reporting requirement while attempting to transport currency from the United States to a place outside the United States.

Meza is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 7. She was remanded to the custody of U.S. Marshal’s Service pending her sentencing date.

According to court documents, Meza on June 16 attempted to walk across the Gateway International Bridge from Brownsville to Matamoros. She was carrying a suitcase.

When U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers searched the suitcase, they found a large bundle of money.

According to court documents, Meza said the amount of money she was carrying was less than $10,000.

As the officers continued to search, they found large amounts of money stashed inside a potato chip can and money wrapped inside balloons that were submerged in a shampoo bottle.

Authorities counted $92,756 in cash.

As part of her plea agreement, Meza must forfeit the money.

The CBP said that while it is not a crime to carry more than $10,000, it is a federal offense not to declare amounts of $10,000 ore more when entering or leaving the country.

Lmartinez@brownsvilleherald.com

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