NEWARK, NJ—A Hudson County, New Jersey, man today admitted to failing to file federally required currency transaction reports in connection with his check-cashing business, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Louis Sclafane, 83, of Bayonne, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty in Newark federal court to an information charging him with causing a domestic financial institution to fail to file Currency Transaction Reports (CTR), which are required for U.S. currency transactions in excess of $10,000 conducted by or on behalf of a single person on the same day, totaling $381,595 over a year and a half.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Sclafane was the owner and sole proprietor of Advance Financial (AF), a check-cashing establishment located in Bayonne. Sclafane oversaw the day-to-day operations of AF, such as cashing checks for its customers and withdrawing currency from bank accounts associated with AF.

Between Sept. 29, 2010 and April 2012, Sclafane cashed at least 20 checks over $10,000 each without filing CTRs with the U.S. Treasury, despite being required to do so by the Federal Bank Secrecy Act.

The charge of causing a financial institution to fail to file CTRs for the purpose of evading the reporting requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act, to which Sclafane pleaded guilty, carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $500,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 6, 2016.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the IRS Criminal Investigations Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen in Newark; special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark, and special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacques S. Pierre of the Special Prosecutions Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven G. Sanders of the Appeals Division.

Defense counsel: Perter Carter Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark.