I'm not one of those people who believe that the federal government was behind 9/11 or that the "deep state" (and/or Illuminati) controls the nation, but I do believe that the government substantially oversteps at times. When, in pursuit of (usually) legitimate objectives, the government goes way, way too far.
A company opened a business in Beverley Hills that rented out safe deposit boxes, with incredibly tight security. Seems reasonable. But, unlike regular banks, which also rent safe deposit boxes, this company "did not require customers to provide personal information, social security numbers, driver’s licenses, or any other form of identification in order to rent a box."
Predictably, some -- perhaps many -- of the people who rented those safe deposit boxes were criminals, who had cash or drugs or whatever that they didn't want connected to their name. Moreover, the company probably knew (or at least suspected) as much.
After taking down various individuals who had safe deposit boxes at the place, the feds decided that they wanted to take down the whole company as well. So they got a warrant and raided the place, and opened up all the safe deposit boxes. Presumably to find -- and seize -- whatever drugs and other contraband was there.
I bet there was some. Fair enough.
But the United States decided to go further. It decided to seize, and declare forfeit, every safe deposit box that had more than $5000 worth of stuff in it. Even from totally legitimate customers. Like:
• Paul and Jennifer Snitko, who used their USPV box to store legal documents, watches with sentimental value, hard-drive backups, coins, and gold jewelry. They used USPV “because [their] bank had a waiting list for a safe deposit box, [they] live in a wildfire prone area . . . and [they] require a place to store [their] wedding bands when engaging in sports activities . . . .”
• Tyler Gothier, who stored “silver and other personal property” in his box and used USPV due to its convenient location.
• Joseph Ruiz, who stored $57,000 in cash in his box and used USPV because he was concerned that “the COVID pandemic would make it impossible for [him] to withdraw [his] funds from a bank account.”
• Michael Storc and Jeni-Verdon Pearsons, who stored “approximately $2,000 in cash, as well as approximately $20,000 worth of silver,” along with “personal documents” in their box. They used USPV because they needed a safe place to keep the silver.
• Travis May, who stored $63,000 in cash, $100,000 in gold, and various documents in sealed envelopes in his box, and used USPV as an “alternative location to access valuables in case of emergencies.”
These legitimate customers filed claims forms with the United States seeking a return of the stuff in their security deposit boxes. What did the feds tell them to do? Pound sand. Instead, the United States filed forfeiture proceedings against them, seeking to keep the valuable contents.
Eventually, the plaintiffs here get their stuff back. But they have to go through extensive proceedings and litigation to make that happen. Which ain't cheap. Yet is, in my view, entirely unnecessary.
The case in the Ninth Circuit is about whether the plaintiffs can also get an order that requires the feds to destroy their records about what they found in the safety deposit boxes of these legitimate customers, and the Ninth Circuit says that they can.
But my overall reaction is to the underlying seizure proceedings themselves. I'd spank the government for its recalcitrance in giving the money back. Hard.
There's massive incentive for the federal government to want to keep seized money, even when there's a darn good chance that the assets belong to entirely legitimate people. Courts should minimize that incentive and keep the government honest. Merely giving the money back after extensive and risky legal proceedings isn't enough. There's got to be additional downsides as well.
Serious ones, IMHO.
