A Conway businessman was sentenced Thursday to two years' probation in connection with her guilty plea in May to one of 21 charges she faced of structuring bank deposits to evade reporting requirements.
Patrice Donnell Duncan, 59, who for 33 years co-owned Duncan Outdoors Inc. with her husband, admitted May 5 that in the fall of 2011, she told a customer she would break up his cash payment for a motorcycle into two payments when she deposited it so that the bank and government wouldn't know about the transaction. The customer turned out to be an undercover Internal Revenue Service agent who was wearing a recording device.
Domestic financial institutions are required to file a currency transaction report with the U.S. Treasury Department for each deposit, withdrawal, exchange of currency or other payment or transfer involving more than $10,000 cash.
On Sept. 5, 2012, Duncan and her husband, Gary Ronald Duncan, were indicted on 21 counts of structuring in connection with 21 deposits of less than $10,000 that were made between Oct. 22, 2007, and Oct. 25, 2011.
In pleading guilty to one of those charges, in return for the others being dismissed against her and all charges being dropped against her husband, Patrice Duncan said she divided an $11,400 cash payment into two deposits of $9,400 and $2,000 to avoid filling out transaction forms.
In a sentencing memorandum, defense attorney Erin Cassinelli of Little Rock said Patrice Duncan wanted "to avoid the hassle" of waiting at the bank while paperwork was filled out and was relying on the advice of a bank employee who years earlier told the Duncans that they could avoid delays at the bank if they didn't make deposits of more than $10,000.
Because she is now a convicted felon, Patrice Duncan signed her share of the business over to her husband to comply with corporate policies of companies that Duncan Outdoors contracts with, Cassinelli said. She also agreed to let the government keep $94,500 that it seized from the business's account during the investigation.
Patrice Duncan told U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr. that her community reputation has been tarnished as a result of the charges.
Metro on 08/15/2014