Civil Forfeiture

The Federal civil forfeiture statutes allow government law enforcement agencies to seize property alleged to have a connection with criminal activity. For example, your car or other property may be taken away from you if the government alleges that the property was purchased with illegal drug money, or if the property was involved in the criminal activity. Some examples of property that are routinely taken in civil forfeiture cases include: cars and real estate, including houses and land; cash and bank deposits; jewelry and other personal items of value; boats and private planes; and computers or electronic equipment. Your property may have been seized in a case and you are not even the defendant. This is because the property itself is the defendant in the civil forfeiture case, and all the government must allege is that there is some connection between the seized property and unlawful activity. In order to recover the property, the rightful owner can challenge the reason for the forfeiture, or try to recover some or all of the seized property. There are important time limits to make your claim to seized property, so contacting our office immediately is necessary in order to protect your interest in the seized property.