Federal Crime of Smuggling Goods – 18 U.S.C. § 545
The United States has strict laws to protect the country's economic interests, public health, and safety by regulating the importation of goods. Bypassing the accepted import channels by smuggling compromises consumer safety (often by importing illegal contraband), defrauds the government of tariff revenues, etc.
For this reason, smuggling goods into the United States is a serious federal crime under Title 18 U.S.C. 545. If you are charged with smuggling and convicted, you could face up to 20 years in federal prison. United States customs laws are designed to control the importation of goods and impose taxes, called “duties.”
Customs laws protect the economy, jobs, and the environment. The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Protection Agency (CBP) imposes duties on goods entering the country, normally levied at the time of importation.
Title 18, Section 545 of the United States Code defines the federal crime of smuggling goods as a serious felony offense under the laws of the United States.
The United States has a complex set of import and export regulations that impose financial costs on those who engage in international trade. This creates an incentive to avoid import and export restrictions by evading the examination of shipments or presenting false documents.
In both cases, this conduct constitutes the smuggling of goods under federal law and can give rise to a prosecution for criminal conduct in federal court.
Federal laws on customs-related crime are described under customs, found in Chapter 27 of the U.S. Code. There are 15 separate statutes.
Anyone found in violation of these federal laws could face both criminal and civil penalties. In addition to smuggling goods, other crime categories are considered customs violations, such as false declarations and exporting or importing violations.
To give readers a better understanding of the crime of smuggling goods, our federal criminal defense lawyers are reviewing 18 U.S.C. § 545, which is the primary statute used to prosecute these types of customs violations.
What Is Smuggling?
For federal law purposes, smuggling illegally imports goods into the country, bypassing customs inspections and regulations. It often involves hiding contraband or undervaluing merchandise to avoid paying taxes and tariffs.
It can also involve fabricating paperwork presented to customs to show that the imported products are entering the country legally. Smuggled goods can range from illegal drugs and weapons to counterfeit products and endangered wildlife, but smuggling can also involve legal products that have been snuck past customs to avoid taxes and tariffs.
What Does the Law Say?
18 U.S.C. 545 defines and criminalizes smuggling goods into the United States. The law explicitly prohibits:
- Knowingly and willfully smuggling or clandestinely introducing goods that should have been invoiced.
- Passing through customs with false, forged, or fraudulent invoices or documents.
- Fraudulently importing or bringing any merchandise contrary to law.
- Receiving, concealing, buying, selling, or facilitating the transportation, concealment, or sale of such merchandise after importation, knowing it was imported illegally.
The statute is designed to protect the integrity of the U.S. customs system and ensure that all goods entering the country comply with legal requirements. Under this law, several actions are deemed unlawful:
- Smuggling or Clandestine Introduction: Any attempt to bring goods into the U.S. without proper invoicing or official documentation, often bypassing customs checks.
- Forgery and Fraudulent Documentation: Using falsified documents to misrepresent imported goods' nature, quantity, or value.
- Illegal Importation: Introducing merchandise into the U.S. that is prohibited or restricted under various laws.
- Facilitation and Concealment: Engaging in activities that aid the transportation, concealment, or sale of illegally imported goods.
What Must the Federal Prosecutor Prove?
Under 18 U.S.C. § 545, a defendant must be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the following elements for the government to secure a conviction for smuggling goods:
- Acts of Smuggling or Fraud: You engaged in smuggling, forging documents, or other prohibited acts outlined in the statute.
- Contravention of Laws: The merchandise in question was imported contrary to U.S. laws, regulations, or customs procedures.
- Knowledge: You knowingly and willfully engaged in these activities and
- Intent: You did so with the intent of defrauding the United States.
The crucial elements of the crime that the federal prosecutor must prove to obtain a conviction warrants further discussion. Let's take a closer look below.
The defendant must have knowingly and willfully intended to defraud the United States by smuggling or clandestinely introducing or attempting to do so any merchandise that should have been invoiced. The defendant can also be found guilty when they present a false, fraudulent, or forged invoice to evade import restrictions.
Another related but distinct theory of smuggling goods is where the defendant fraudulently or knowingly imports into the United States any merchandise contrary to law or receives, conceals, buys, sells, or otherwise facilitates commerce in the unlawful goods, knowing that they were smuggled into the United States.
Under this second theory, therefore, the defendant need not be the one who personally evaded import restrictions by smuggling the goods through customs.
If the defendant knew the goods were unlawfully smuggled and received, bought, or otherwise assisted in their introduction into commerce, these acts constitute smuggling goods under 18 U.S.C. § 545.
While the elements of the crime above might seem difficult to prove, we should point out this specific clause in the law: “Proof of defendant's possession of such goods, unless explained to the jury's satisfaction, shall be deemed evidence sufficient to authorize conviction for violation of this section.”
In other words, unless you have a convincing explanation, having been found with smuggled goods in your possession (i.e., under your control) is considered sufficient evidence to prove the elements of the crime and procure a conviction. This clause effectively lowers the burden of proof and makes it much easier for federal prosecutors to convict you of the crime.
Related Federal Offenses for 18 U.S.C. § 545
As stated above, relevant statutes for federal customs-related crimes are contained in 18 U.S.C. Section 27. Some of the primary statutes include:
- 18 U.S.C. § 541 – Entry of goods that were falsely classified.
- 18 U.S.C. § 542 – Entry of goods by making false statements.
- 18 U.S.C. § 543 – Entry of goods by paying less than the legal duty.
- 18 U.S.C. § 546 – Smuggling goods into foreign countries.
- 18 U.S.C. § 547 – Depositing goods in buildings near boundary.
- 18 U.S.C. § 550 – False claims to get a duty refunded.
- 18 U.S.C. § 551 – Concealing or destroying relevant invoices.
- 18 U.S.C. § 553 – Import or export stolen vehicles or equipment.
- 18 U.S.C. § 554 – Smuggling goods from the United States.
- 18 U.S.C. § 555 – Create or use border tunnels and passages.
Penalties for 18 U.S.C. § 545 Smuggling Goods
A conviction for smuggling goods in federal court carries severe potential criminal consequences. The maximum penalty under Section 545 is 20 years in federal prison plus fines and fees.
The actual sentence received by a particular defendant will depend on the application of the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which compare specific offense characteristics with the defendant's criminal history.
The sentencing judge will also enjoy substantial discretion to impose an appropriate sentence and will be guided by the equitable factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). These factors include the defendant's history and characteristics, the need to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities between similarly situated defendants nationwide, and the need to make victim restitution.
Simply put, being convicted of smuggling under federal law has potentially severe penalties. If you're convicted of violating U.S.C. 545, you could face the following consequences:
- You can be sentenced to up to 20 years in federal prison.
- You may be facing significant fines (generally up to $250,000), and
- You will likely face forfeiture of the merchandise smuggled into the U.S., or the government may seize its equivalent value from your assets.
Forfeiture Provision
Title 18 of the United States Code, Section 545, also contains a forfeiture provision. It provides that any goods brought into the United States violating the anti-smuggling statute and subsequently seized by federal law enforcement will be forfeited to the United States.
The anti-smuggling provisions of Section 545 apply to the territorial United States but do not apply to the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and several other islands.
Fighting 18 U.S.C. § 545 Smuggling Goods Charges
Defenses to a charge of smuggling goods under 18 U.S.C. § 545 will focus on insufficient evidence of the defendant's knowing, willful, and intentional efforts to evade customs requirements or present false invoices.
In the hustle and bustle of international trade, many goods are imported and exported daily, all of which must be appropriately invoiced. It is entirely possible, and largely excusable, that errors will creep into some invoices over time.
The government must prove that these errors were intentionally included in the invoices in an attempt to smuggle goods rather than simply the product of an understandable oversight by the merchant involved in the trade.
Despite the seriousness of this crime, a skilled federal defense attorney can employ several defenses to counter these charges. Depending on the circumstances of your case, these include, but are not limited to:
- Lack of Knowledge or Intent: Demonstrating that you did not knowingly or willfully engage in smuggling or fraudulent activities.
- Mistake or Innocent Possession: Arguing that any possession of smuggled goods was unintentional or occurred without knowledge of their illegal status.
- Duress or Coercion: If you were forced to engage in smuggling under threat of harm to you or your loved ones, this may serve as a valid defense.
- Legitimate Documentation: Providing accurate and legitimate documentation that contradicts the prosecution's claims of fraud or forgery.
- Procedural Violations: These involve challenging the legality of law enforcement officers' search, seizure, or arrest procedures.
A smuggling prosecution in federal court is not guaranteed even after a shipment is seized for suspected smuggling. If you, or someone you know, is under investigation for smuggling goods violating Section 545, contact our experienced attorneys today.
Through the process of prefiling intervention, we can advocate before court for their client with federal law enforcement and the United States Attorney's Office to attempt to avoid the filing of formal charges in court.
Even if a filing is inevitable, a pre-indictment plea negotiation may lead to a more favorable outcome than if the client waited for charges to be filed and then began contact with the government after being charged.
Prefiling intervention focused on issues of proof and significant mitigating factors specific to the particular client is often critical to achieving the best possible outcome. Eisner Gorin LLP is a Los Angeles criminal defense law firm.
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