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A Cape Cod man who attempted to carry $100,000, gift-wrapped to look like books, in his carry-on luggage at Boston Logan International Airport, was ordered to forfeit the money by a federal court judge, who held that the money was substantially connected to drug trafficking.
Daniel R. Ormond, 32, having booked a one-way flight from Boston to California on May 26, 2016, attempted to pass through a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint with a bag that contained two gift-wrapped packages, which appeared to be books. Further inspection revealed, however, that the gift-wrapped “books” were actually two separate bundles of currency sandwiched between cardboard and then wrapped in carbon-paper.
Ormond initially denied having any knowledge of the currency in his bag and claimed that his mother packed the two gifts, which he said were intended for a relative graduating high school in northern California. When contacted, Ormond’s mother denied providing her son with gifts or currency, and denied the existence of a relative graduating high school in California. While Ormond was talking to law enforcement, he received a call from a friend, who asked whether Ormond was able to get through security without any issues. In addition, a police K-9 alerted officers to the currency.
In October 2016, the United States filed a complaint for forfeiture of the $100,000, which alleged that the money was proceeds of drug trafficking, or money intended to be used for drug trafficking. Recently, U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock entered judgment in favor of the United States and ordered the forfeiture of the money. The Court found that the substantial amount of money seized from Ormond, the packaging of the money, Ormond’s last minute travel to a known narcotics source area, Ormond’s inconsistent statements to investigators, the K-9 alert, Ormond’s past criminal history, and testimony from other witnesses established that the currency was substantially connected to drug trafficking. The Court also found that Ormond failed to provide any explanation for the source of the funds in his challenge to the forfeiture proceeding.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police Force; and John Gibbons, U.S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts, made the announcement. The case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Doreen M. Rachal of Lelling’s Civil Division.
