United States v. Waldemar Ratzlaf, United States of America v. Loretta Ratzlaf

POOLE, Circuit Judge:

Defendants Loretta and Waldemar Ratz-laf appeal their convictions for structuring financial transactions to avoid currency reporting requirements, a violation of 31 U.S.C. §§ 5322(a), 5324(3). They argue that Cheek v. United States, 498 U.S. 192, 111 S.Ct. 604, 112 L.Ed.2d 617 (1991), overrules our holding in United States v. Hoyland, 914 F.2d 1125 (9th Cir.1990), that the government does not have to prove that the defendants knew structuring is illegal to convict. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We affirm.

I

Defendants Waldemar and Loretta Ratz-laf,…