PLEASE HELP - SAR question

The US DofJ is giving me a hard time so I desperately need some input. We have a checking acct that nothing yet has happened on.

We received a call from an outside company to inform us that the owner of the acct has tried some unauthorized ACH debits. The co had thought something was going on so they called the supposed payor and this person said they had never heard of the company and had not authorized anything. We never received any items against the acct - the one called about was only $900.

We reviewed the acct and found that her opening dep was a $1,200 check drawn on a local bank. We do know the check is counterfeit but we have not received it back because the person who's acct it is drawn on apparently has not received or looked at the statement to realize they are missing $1,200.

Now - we're up to $2,100. We took the initiative to call the US Postal Inspector's office who had posted a Fraud Alert to tell them that we had an account opened by this person but that nothing had happened.

The US DofJ is letting us know in a round about way that they "expect" to see a SAR and they want to know our justification for not filing one, if we do not.

My justification is that the amount we know about is $2,100, not over $5,000. It is not terrorism or an bank employee. We have had no losses at this point.

Am I correct or am I just overlooking something obvious OR am I dealing with a bullheaded DofJ person who just doesn't want to get a subpoena to obtain information. (They have also insinuated that they will be asking for "suppporting documentation" once they are in receipt of the SAR).

Thanks guys !!!

Maybe I missed something but how did the DofJ get involved in this? Was it when you contacted the Postal Service?

This is just my opinion but unless the amount increases I would not file a defensive SAR just because the DofJ wants you to. FinCEN is who we file with and they have guidelines stating at what dollar amount they want to see reports for. I would document the research, place a hold on the account and when the funds are returned, close it due to forgeries. So far you are not out anything and have not reached the reporting amount. But again, that is just my opinion.

If the other bank eventually hears from its customer about the forged check, you shouldn't get a charge-back unless both banks subscribe to a clearinghouse agreement that modifies the effect of the UCC. It's too late for a return (although many banks will attempt one).

We finally decided not to file a SAR - the amount is well below $2,100. I communicated to the DofJ that we were not doing so and why. Yes, the DofJ is involved because of the US Postal Inspectors. Apparently they already have a potential indictment in the six-digits.

Thanks everyone for your response.