A Montreal traveller has lost his bid to recover more than $52,000 seized by Canadian border officers after they questioned his claim that he turned US$2,000 into more than US$37,000 during two days of gambling in Las Vegas.Federal Court Justice Christine Pallotta upheld the Canada Border Services Agency's seizure of the cash and ordered Jean Carlos Mejia to pay $1,500 in costs.“The application is dismissed,” Pallotta wrote.Blacklock's Reporter says Mejia arrived at Montreal's Trudeau International Airport around Christmas 2024 carrying US$37,263 in cash, worth approximately $52,200 Canadian.Under the Proceeds of Crime and Terrorist Financing Act, travellers entering Canada must declare currency or monetary instruments valued at $10,000 or more.Mejia maintained the money came from legitimate gambling, including $27,561 in sports betting winnings and additional casino profits accumulated during two days in Las Vegas.But a border officer was not convinced by his explanation.“The officer was not satisfied that the funds had a legitimate origin,” Pallotta wrote. “Among other things, the officer noted Mr. Meija was unable to explain how US$2,000 had become more than US$37,000 in two days.”The officer determined there were reasonable grounds to suspect the money was proceeds of crime and seized the entire US$37,263.Mejia told authorities he was “a good customer” at Las Vegas casinos and had previously reported $128,000 in winnings from four earlier trips.He said he arrived in Las Vegas with US$2,000 and provided sports betting receipts along with casino videos as evidence of his winnings.“The officer was not satisfied,” Pallotta wrote..The court said a win-loss summary provided for slot machines and table games did not show when the winnings were accumulated.Photos and videos showing casino chips also failed to establish the chips belonged to Mejia, according to the ruling.The CBSA has faced numerous Federal Court challenges from travellers seeking the return of money seized under federal proceeds-of-crime and terrorist-financing legislation, though many of those challenges have been unsuccessful.The agency disclosed in 2016 that it had confiscated $521.5 million from travellers that year, an amount equivalent to roughly one-third of its annual budget at the time.“Seizures in general vary from year to year,” CBSA spokesperson Barre Campbell said at the time. “The figures shown are not reported in Canada Border Services Agency financial statements.”An earlier CBSA audit reported approximately $16 million in unreported currency was confiscated by border officers between 2010 and 2013, averaging about $4 million annually.A separate Federal Court ruling in 2016 upheld the legality of requiring travellers to demonstrate that seized cash was not connected to criminal activity.“This can hardly be characterized as unreasonable in the face of deceptive and suspicious conduct,” Justice Robert Barnes wrote in that decision.
