Ying Da [Photo: takungpao.com]

Chinese director Ying Da has pleaded guilty to currency violations in Connecticut, U.S., and could face up to 10-year imprisonment and a maximum penalty of USD 500,000.

According to court documents, Ying structured 50 cash deposits into his and his wife's six accounts at four banks in Connecticut between April 2011 and March 2012.

The cash, amounting to USD 464,400, was split to make each deposit less than USD 10,000.01, as Ying knew banks are required by federal law to report currency transactions of more than USD 10,000.

Officials said his structuring activity was intended to evade the transaction reporting requirements.

Even though the deposited money was legitimately earned, Ying's financial transactions still violated the US federal criminal law, Attorney Deirdre M. Daly said in a press statement.

Ying was released pending sentencing.

As part of the resolution, he agreed to forfeit USD 175,938 of the funds he structured in Connecticut, and pay the Internal Revenue Service USD 113,195 in unpaid federal taxes, plus penalties and interest for 2009, 2010 and 2011.