Border stop lands pair in Maine jail Currency declaration doesn’t add up

BANGOR – A Canadian man and an American woman living in Canada are being held in the Penobscot County Jail for lying to officials about the amount of money they were bringing into the country.

Deborah Ann Smith, 41, and Cyril Gordon Lunn, 56, addresses unknown, were arrested on Oct. 6 at the Calais border crossing.

Smith is charged with failing to file a currency importation report. Lunn is charged with making false statements to border agents.

Detention hearings for the pair are scheduled today in U.S. District Court in Bangor.

Smith is a citizen of Canada, and Lunn is a citizen of the United States with alien resident status in Canada, according to officials.

The two were stopped at the border in a 2004 motor home with a Montana license plate, towing a 1998 Toyota with a Massachusetts license plate, according to court documents.

Lunn and Smith both told officials that they were long-time friends and that he was scheduled to undergo surgery in the United States, while she was to assist him during his recovery.

Although Lunn declared $9,800 and Smith declared $9,200 in U.S. currency, officials found more than $50,000 in Canadian currency and more than $40,000 in U.S. currency inside the motor home.

Smith told officials that she was transporting currency into the United States. for Lunn as she had done on other occasions, according to court documents.

Federal law does not limit the amount of money visitors can bring into the country, but people must honestly declare how much currency they have, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney James McCarthy, who is prosecuting the case.

Lunn told agents that he gave the money to Smith to buy a car. He denied giving her the money to avoid reporting requirements and also denied knowing there was additional cash in the motor home, according to court documents.

If convicted, Smith and Lunn each could be sentenced to five years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.