How much cash can you legally carry on a SC plane? Here’s what the law says

Let’s say you have a lot of cash — thousands — can you legally travel with it on an airplane?

Sounds sort of far-fetched in this world of credit and debit cards but it has happened.

Consider the traveler who had $75,000 in cash at the Richmond, Virginia, airport. The Transportation Security Administration saw it in the luggage, alerted law enforcement and just like that the money was gone.

That was 10 years ago and apparently the cash was never returned.

Nevertheless, it is legal to travel with large sums of cash on an airplane, but it does raise questions with authorities. If they believe it was ill-gotten gains, they can take it as the Richmond traveler learned.

The only rules about cash on a plane are when you are flying internationally. You must declare it if it is more than $10,000.

FindLaw recommends you ask TSA officials to screen you in a private location so other passengers don’t know you have a lot of cash and keep it in your carry-on bag, not checked baggage.

In the Richmond case, TSA contacted law enforcement and the money was seized under civil asset forfeiture laws. Few would have known about the seizure if it hadn’t been for a TSA public affairs spokesperson who tweeted a photo of a passenger’s cash-stuffed luggage, saying, “If you had $75,000, is this how you’d transport it? Just asking! TSA @ #RIC spotted this traveler’s preferred method.”

Richmond International Airport spokesperson Troy Bell told The Huffington Post at the time it wasn’t uncommon to find cash at airports, but also not an everyday thing.

“If you’re traveling with a large amount of cash with no real explanation as to why, it can be seized, which was the case here,” he said.

Public affairs officials from Columbia Metropoitan Airport, Greenville Spartanburg International Airport and the TSA did not respond to requests for comment on whether such situations have occurred locally.

Here’s what lawyers say you can do if your cash is siezed:

Of course their first suggestion is to contact a lawyer who has experience with asset forfeiture.

Gather information about how you came to be in legal possession of the money such as bank statements, business records, receipts, or affidavits from individuals who can testify to the lawful source of your money.

Submit a claim to get the money back.

New York lawyer Robert Tsigler said on his website, “If the amount seized is less than $500,000, the case gets treated first as an administrative forfeiture.”

If it’s more, you’re going to court.

The government has the responsibility of proving the money came from criminal activity.

TSA released a list last year of the most commonly seized items. Leading the list was weapons, including a knife in a show, gun parts on a red combat boot and Lego box and a gun in a teapot. There was also a gun a a baby stroller at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston.

Asheville Regional Airport in North Carolina screeners found marijuana in. peanut butter.

But that’s nothing compared to the surprise screeners had at Miami International Airport, who found live snakes in a passenger’s pants.