By KRWG News
Las Cruces – A federal grand jury in New Mexico has indicted an Arizona woman for allegedly trying to smuggle more than $13,000 in cash out of the country three months ago.
Prosecutors say 19-year-old Daisy Beltran, of Tempe, was arraigned Monday in U.S. District Court in Las Cruces on the Nov. 18 indictment.
Authorities say border inspectors at the Columbus Port of Entry found $13,700 in Beltran's purse on Aug. 25. Inspectors say Beltran was headed to Mexico and declared that she wasn't carrying any currency in excess of $10,000 before the money was found.
Beltran also is charged in the indictment with structuring transactions to evade currency reporting requirements.
Prosecutors say the maximum penalty for both offenses is five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.