Bickham Lincoln-Mercury Incorporated v. United States

DENNIS, Circuit Judge:

Bickham Lincoln-Mercury, Inc. (Bickham) was prosecuted for failure to file Form 8300 with the Internal Revenue Service following two transactions involving the receipt of more than $10,000. As part of a plea agreement, Bickham pleaded guilty and paid a $5,000 criminal fine and the government agreed that it would not initiate further prosecutions against Bickham. Approximately a year later, the government imposed a civil penalty of $27,000 based upon the same conduct which resulted in the criminal penalty. The issues on appeal are whether imposition of the civil penalty…