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#1573036 - 07/01/11 04:32 PM Checks cashed; what to do?
devsfan Offline
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,927
NYC
We found that 1 of our branches has been cashing checks once a week for an individual who is not an account-holder and then we asked for more details. The checks are typically around $2,500 so we are talking about $10,000 per month for the past 5 or 6 monhs. The checks were issued by a business customer (construction) who advised us that the payee is a sub-contractor. The payee is hispanic and the only form of ID that the branch received was a matricula consular card issued by the local Mexican consulate. We asked the branch to get the Tax ID of the payee and they relayed the request to the business owner who then called me (Compliance). He was pretty angry stating that he has been filing 1099's on the individual for years and has not heard anything back from the IRS. I also want to get some form of official US-issued ID such as drivers license but the business owner said that he did not think that the guy drives. If I get the Tax ID I will try to do a Chex look-up to see what I can learn. Any suggestions on how we should proceed; do we continue to cash the checks, refuse to cash them, file a SAR for possible undocumented worker, etc?

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#1573059 - 07/01/11 04:44 PM Re: Checks cashed; what to do? devsfan
TMichelle Offline
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 106
is the construction company a customer of yours? If so, do you require the ssn of other people cashing checks drawn off your bank? Is a matricula consular card an acceptable form of id for your bank? If so then i would keep cashing, if not then you could refuse to cash the checks until he presents valid id for you... Gut feeling...the construction company may very well be working undocumented workers.

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#1573337 - 07/01/11 08:28 PM Re: Checks cashed; what to do? TMichelle
BrendaC Offline
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BrendaC
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,029
Sweet Home AL
Your check cashing policy should clearly define ID requirements for check cashing. If it doesn't, it appears you have an opportunity to enhance the procedures.

If a person is authorized to work in the U.S., he/she should have a SSN for work purposes. If the company is filing 1099's, they should be documenting the SSN on those forms. But that is not necessarily your problem.

There could be local statutes impacting the employment of undocumented workers that should be considered as well when determining ID requirements and SAR filings.
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#1573385 - 07/01/11 09:27 PM Re: Checks cashed; what to do? devsfan
WonderWoman Offline
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WonderWoman
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,108
gone fishin'
Originally Posted By: devsfan
If I get the Tax ID I will try to do a Chex look-up to see what I can learn.


I don't believe you can legally do that if they aren't in a contract with you.
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#1573718 - 07/05/11 04:12 PM Re: Checks cashed; what to do? WonderWoman
Sing A Little Offline
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Sing A Little
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 3,889
CA
Just curious...have anyone talked to his non-customer about establishing an account? You could talk to this guy directly to find out what type of ID he has. If it's all on the up and up then he could just deposit those checks and you will have all of the info you need for any reporting purposes.
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