United States v. Scott Obiuwevbi

MANION, Circuit Judge.

In December 1989, Scott Obiuwevbi, a Nigerian national living in the United States, planned to fly from O’Hare Airport in Chicago to Lagos, Nigeria. But Obiu-wevbi’s plans were scuttled at the boarding gate by United States Customs Service agents who were conducting an operation (appropriately named “Buck Stop”) designed to enforce United States currency reporting requirements. Federal law requires that any person entering or leaving the United States with $10,000 in United States currency or cash equivalents (money orders, etc.) declare the amount on a United States…