Anaheim Men Charged in Cash Deal : Indictment: Federal authorities allege that the two businessmen structured a ranch purchase solely to evade guidelines.

Federal authorities said Wednesday that two Anaheim businessmen have been indicted on charges of avoiding currency reporting guidelines in their purchase of a 960-acre ranch straddling the California-Oregon border.

A federal grand jury in Los Angeles on Tuesday charged John H. Kocyla, 44, and Philip M. Grammatica, 47, with a total of nine counts of conspiracy and structuring cash transactions.

The indictment alleges that Kocyla used $170,000 worth of money orders and cashier’s checks in January or February plus $410,000 in cash to purchase the Hidden Valley Ranch near Klamath Falls, Ore. According to the indictment, Kocyla and Grammatica bought the money orders and cashier’s checks in sums of less than $10,000, which do not have to be reported to the Internal Revenue Service. The indictment alleges that the two men made the transactions at banks and post offices across Orange and Los Angeles counties.

Although no other charges were filed, federal authorities, using drug-sniffing dogs, found that “the odor of narcotics was present” on some of the cash, Assistant U.S. Atty. Jean A. Kawahara said. She would not elaborate.

Kocyla, the owner of Custom John’s General Store and Swingers Psych Shop in Anaheim, was arrested on June 24 and released on $100,000 bail, Kawahara said. Grammatica, a business consultant, was arrested on the same day and released on $50,000 bail, she said.

Federal law prohibits “structuring” cash transactions for the sole purpose of evading the guidelines, Kawahara said. When the two men began buying the money orders and cashier’s checks, at least one bank became suspicious and alerted federal authorities, she said.

The bank, she said, “started thinking that something looked fishy.”

Federal authorities also alleged that Kocyla asked the sellers of the property to deposit the cash portion of the payment in such a way that they could avoid reporting requirements.

Federal agents seized the ranch earlier this week as part of a civil forfeiture suit filed against Kocyla by the U.S. attorney’s office in Eugene, Ore.

A public defender representing Kocyla could not be reached for comment. Phillip Bronson, an attorney for Grammatica, had no comment.