Hundreds of safe-deposit box owners were affected by an FBI raid at U.S. Private Vaults in Beverly Hills, CA. The FBI reportedly seized all of the contents of the safe deposit boxes.
According to press sources, the FBI executed the raid due to criminal allegations against U.S. Private Vaults. The agency believes the business was involved in protecting illegal activities and allowing criminals to stash their ill-gotten possessions.
The state of Texas is abuzz with a new civil forfeiture bill introduced by both Democrat and Republican sponsors.
This fresh bill, HB 2315, is directed towards highway racers who allegedly disrupt the peace in neighborhoods all over the state. HB 2315 will criminalize stunt racing on highways and forfeit the vehicles used in such races to fund local authorities.
HB 2315 has garnered many supporters from its conception. At first glance, it can seem like a good thing. However, when closely examined and all parties are considered, it could condemn racers. An Instagram account run by a self-proclaimed stunt driver has reacted negatively to the bill. The account owner expressed the dangers and redundancies of the bill, and how it could affect a lot of lives.
A civil asset forfeiture request filed by a law enforcement agency in Indiana on April 5 requested forfeiture and freezing of assets of the owners of multiple businesses, news sources report.
According to court filings, a search and seizure operation was conducted last March 5 on three local businesses: Treasure on Pallets, Deal Zone, and CD Land. The operation was conducted on grounds of money laundering and racketeering.
The State of Nevada amended its civil asset forfeiture laws in 2015 to require law enforcement agencies to secure a conviction before performing property seizures. Now, in 2021, the state is in the process of passing more reform.
Assembly Bill 425 is seeking to change some of the state’s existing forfeiture procedures. Even though state law requires a conviction before a seizure, forfeiture is still performed as a separate civil action. This puts an additional burden on property owners to enlist an attorney for a civil suit after they complete the criminal proceedings.
In 2019, a woman traveling from Pittsburgh with $82,000 in cash was stopped by authorities at the airport, and her money was seized using civil asset forfeiture.
According to the press, the woman was carrying her father’s life savings to deposit in a bank when she was confronted by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents about the cash.
The TSA agents eventually released her, but she was then detained by officers from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) before she boarded her flight. The agents questioned her about the origins of the money. She explained that it was her father’s money and she was just helping him put it in a bank. The DEA officers let her go, but they allegedly seized the cash under suspicion of being involved in a crime.
Criminal Defense and Civil Forfeiture Blog