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FBI says fortune seized in Beverly Hills raid was criminals’ loot. Owners say: Where’s the proof?


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Federal agents say the use of rubber bands and other ordinary methods of storing cash were indications of drug trafficking or money laundering.  That is the best the FBI could come up with??

 

"A judge ordered the government to tell Ruiz why it was trying to confiscate the money.

Ruiz is one of roughly 800 people whose money and valuables the FBI seized from safe deposit boxes they rented at the U.S. Private Vaults store in a strip mall on Olympic Boulevard.

Federal agents had suspected for years that criminals were stashing loot there, and they assert that’s exactly what they found. The government is trying to confiscate $86 million in cash and a stockpile of jewelry, rare coins and precious metals taken from about half of the boxes."

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-09-19/fbi-seizure-cash-beverly-hills-vault-spawns-epic-court-battle

"In civil forfeitures, no criminal conviction is required. The government just needs to prove that it’s more likely than not that the money or property it seeks to confiscate was linked to criminal activity."

“They pulled a bank heist in broad daylight,” Ruiz said. “They didn’t even apologize.”

 

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4 hours ago, railfancwb said:

Does not mention any warrants obtained.

Not sure how the warrant thing works with civil forfeiture.  In this case they didn't go after just one person but bunch of them.   In civil forfeitures, no criminal conviction is required and they just keep your stuff unless you can afford to hire a lawyer and go after them.  This is why the drug kingpins no longer buy their expensive rides, they lease them in case the gov. grabs them.

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On 9/19/2021 at 10:48 AM, Walt Longmire said:

I wonder what the percentage of money is that dogs would hit on as tainted with drugs. Likely pretty high I would think as the bills circulate through so many hands, panties, rolled up to snort, sitting in a purse next to the weed bag, etc.

A few years ago I read that after studies to the effect, it was found that every single bill in circulation was tainted with Cocaine.......  Every single one!

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Say you save cash from all the way from your youth. Then the guv grabs it and says you have to prove you acquired it legit in order to keep it. How do you prove that some of it was from selling pop bottles when you were a kid? Where are those records? It's just a money grab by the gubmint.

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