[Tenacious 1]

I had two deposits made into my checking account on two consecutive days for $5,000 each ($10,000 total). My account was frozen until I could talk to the branch manager the next day. The $10,000 was not made accessible for some time. I also had to fill out an affidavit explaining where the money was coming from and why I received it. It was a family loan that was paid back to me and was not taxable. I had one hell of a time trying to explain that. I guess it was flagged because we were in the middle of buying a house (or so it was explained). The only documentation I had was a hand written IOU from my brother.

My accountant told me I better keep that along with another note saying the debt was paid in my tax file. She said the bank likely reported it to the government. Talk about big brother keeping an eye on you.

[PAR35]

I had two deposits made into my checking account on two consecutive days

Probably would have been less of a problem if you had deposited it all at once. Either would have generated a SAR, but structuring is more likely to get you in trouble.

[freespirited]

She said the bank likely reported it to the government. Talk about big brother keeping an eye on you.

IIRC banks are required to report cash deposits of 10K or more to the government. It's part of the effort to fight money-laundering.

[4woodenboats]

I would change banks. I could see putting a hold on a 10k check if you don't have enough to cover it and it's from out of state, but that's not that much money to set off alarms - roughly a used car or fishing boat.

Freezing the whole account is absurd.

[reformed_dem]

Did you deposit cash or checks? Was your account actually frozen or was an exception hold put on the deposit? Were you a "problem" customer - constantly overdrawn? Did you normally keep low balances then suddenly deposit the $10,000? These are all things that bank managers look at when deciding to put a hold on a deposit. As for simply freezing the account because you deposited $10,000 - that doesn't sound right. What bank was it?

I've been in banking for 8 years, so have a little experience in this area.