(FOXNEWS) — When federal agents stormed into Lyndon McLellan’s North Carolina convenience store last October without warning and accused him of trying to put one over on the government, the small business owner wasn’t sure what was happening.
“They asked me if I knew what ‘structuring’ was and then they showed me some cash deposits I made in a 24-hour period,” he told FoxNews.com.
The IRS agents apparently were suspicious because of deposits McLellan had made of just under $10,000. Banks are required to report transactions over $10,000; making multiple deposits of less than $10,000 to evade that requirement is known as “structuring.”
Under this pretense, enforcement agents accused McLellan of the con and seized all $107,000 from his bank account.
“It leaves you numb,” McLellan told FoxNews.com. “I was in a state of shock.”
