39 results for 'cat:"Forfeiture"'.
J. Kennedy finds on remand from the court of criminal appeals that the lower court properly assessed costs of court in this case stemming from a bond forfeiture. However, the judgment is modified to delete certain fees, which were improperly assessed, including the law library, the appellate fund and the records management fees. Affirmed as modified.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Kennedy, Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: 05-20-01005-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, forfeiture
J. Thapar finds the trial court properly granted the government's request for forfeiture of more than $92,000 in cash found in defendant's bedroom. He not only admitted to dealing drugs in cash transactions when he was convicted of drug trafficking, but he was also familiar with banking as a small business owner, which made it more likely than not the cash was connected to criminal activity and not his legitimate business. However, more than $20,000 in cash found in a dresser drawer must be returned to defendant, who provided evidence of loans and federal grants to support the stockpile of cash. Affirmed in part.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Thapar, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 22-2032, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence, forfeiture
J. Rush finds that the trial court improperly ruled in a forfeiture claims because evidence indicates defendant's aunt was the owner of the confiscated money and that the cash was not tied to criminal activity. Meanwhile, the court failed to make findings that the aunt was lying. Reversed.
Court: Indiana Supreme Court, Judge: Rush, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 23S-MI-345, Categories: Evidence, forfeiture
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J. Fenn finds that the lower court improperly denied a father's motion to intervene in underlying proceedings regarding his son's criminal charges and a potential forfeiture of the bond for which the father had paid. The father claimed in his motion that he was entitled to intervene because he paid the entire amount of the bond. While the merits on his motion to intervene are unclear at this time, the lower court denied it without giving the father proper notice or an opportunity to be heard on his motion to make his case. Reversed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fenn, Filed On: April 3, 2024, Case #: S-23-0136, Categories: Civil Procedure, forfeiture
Per curiam, the circuit finds the district court properly denied defendant's motion for a writ of audita querela. Convicted for conspiracy to distribute synthetic cannabinoids, defendant stipulated that bank assets, currency, a luxury car and gold bars would be forfeited. Defendant's counsel withdrew, and defendant argues he was denied counsel through his forfeiture proceedings. However, a forfeiture judgment must be challenged on direct appeal. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: February 12, 2024, Case #: 23-10690, Categories: Drug Offender, forfeiture, Due Process
[Consolidated.] J. Yarbrough finds that the lower court properly granted summary judgment to the claimants in these civil forfeiture cases. Contrary to the state's argument, the claimants' motion was not conclusory, as it specifically argued that the state lacked evidence to prove that the seized money was contraband. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Yarbrough, Filed On: January 30, 2024, Case #: 07-23-00297-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, forfeiture
J. Hansen finds that the appeal from the decision to set aside a forfeiture judgment after police discovered over $41,000 in cash stashed inside a safe should be dismissed because the state failed to offer evidence clearly indicating the money was related to dealing marijuana rather than tips defendant made as a server at a restaurant. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Tabor, Filed On: December 6, 2023, Case #: 22-2066, Categories: Drug Offender, forfeiture
J. Horton finds that the lower court properly denied in part defendant's motion to set aside the forfeiture of a cash bail based on allegations of "new criminal conduct." The lower court set aside the portion that the wife had contributed, and it was "within its discretion" in otherwise denying defendant's request for relief. Affirmed.
Court: Maine Supreme Court, Judge: Horton, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: 2023ME72, Categories: forfeiture, Bail
J. Durkin partially grants the federal government’s motion for a former pharma executive to forfeit $55 million of his personal funds as well as his remaining business assets. The court convicted the former executive of bank, mail and wire fraud earlier this year, and finds that while the order for money forfeiture is valid, the government must further specify the remaining property it wishes to seize.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Durkin, Filed On: November 15, 2023, Case #: 1:19cr864, NOS: Other Fraud - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Fraud, forfeiture, Banking / Lending
Per curiam, the circuit finds that the district court properly declined to return money and other property forfeited in connection with Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme because arguments made by the husband of a longtime Madoff employee lacked merit, as he previously negotiated the terms of forfeiture and no "extraordinary circumstances" occurred thereafter. Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: November 15, 2023, Case #: 22-2900, Categories: forfeiture
[Consolidated.] Per curiam, the circuit finds that the district court improperly dismissed third-party claims challenging forfeiture orders stemming from defendant's convictions for mail and wire fraud conspiracy in a telemarketing scheme that preyed on the elderly. Claims brought by defendants' ex-wife and mother had been rejected prematurely because the ex-wife may have her own ownership interest in the family home due to the divorce, and the mother was party to a constructive trust that claimed title to a home she bought, renovated, and maintained in her son's name. Meanwhile, forfeiture was properly calculated. Reversed in part.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: October 16, 2023, Case #: 21-1209 (L), Categories: forfeiture, Property
J. Keller finds that the trial court improperly ruled in claims concerning a surety company's liability regarding civil filing fees related to forfeiture because the surety is not liable for fees the state is exempt from paying or which duplicate fees already charged. Reversed.
Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Keller, Filed On: September 20, 2023, Case #: PD-0018-23, Categories: forfeiture
J. Hruz finds the circuit court properly denied the state's motion to dismiss a civil forfeiture action brought against the citizen seeking seizure of a pole barn and other real estate he allegedly used to sell drugs. Contrary to the argument that the circuit court lost competency to handle the forfeiture action because it did not hold a hearing within 60 days of the citizen's answer to the state's complaint, the relevant statute automatically adjourns forfeiture actions until after a defendant is convicted of a crime related to the basis for the seizure of property. Therefore, the 60-day hearing deadline in the statutes cannot reasonably begin until after such a conviction, and that deadline had not begun for the citizen because he had not been convicted of any of the underlying drug felonies related to the seizure as plea negotiations were ongoing. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Hruz, Filed On: September 19, 2023, Case #: 2021AP001849, Categories: Civil Procedure, forfeiture
J. Freudenberg finds the district court properly denied defendant's plea in bar. Defendant alleges that a trial on pending Uniform Controlled Substances Act charges would subject him to double jeopardy through a separate judgment of money forfeiture. Defendant failed to demonstrate he was punished by the forfeiture because he did not show he had an ownership interest in the forfeited money. The forfeiture sanction is civil, not criminal for purposes of a double jeopardy analysis. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Supreme Court, Judge: Freudenberg , Filed On: September 15, 2023, Case #: S-22-612, Categories: Drug Offender, forfeiture, Double Jeopardy
Per curiam, the Seventh Circuit finds that the lower court improperly entered a preliminary order of forfeiture two and a half years after entering a final judgment in this case convicting defendant of producing child pornography. The court did not have the authority to alter a final criminal judgment outside the 14-day time limit, which applies to the entire judgment including any forfeiture provision. Reversed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: August 23, 2023, Case #: 22-2424, Categories: Criminal Procedure, forfeiture, Child Pornography
J. Higginson finds the trial court properly entered an order of forfeiture of funds and property as part of defendant’s criminal sentence for his drug and money laundering conspiracy convictions by guilty plea. On a previous appeal, the Fifth Circuit found that the district court failed at sentencing to orally pronounce the forfeiture and vacated and remanded for resentencing. Because of this, defendant’s claim for ineffective assistance was declared moot. Although defendant sought recission of the forfeiture stipulation, the district court does not have authority to rewrite his plea agreement. Defendant is bound by the plea agreement. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Higginson, Filed On: August 11, 2023, Case #: 22-30369, Categories: Drug Offender, forfeiture, Money Laundering
[Consolidated.] J. Wood finds that the lower court properly ordered defendant to pay $455,000 for obtaining thousands of free and discounted White Sox tickets and selling them online for profit. The absence of a preliminary order outlining defendant's required forfeiture did not prejudice him, as the court orally announced the forfeiture as part of its judgment. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Wood, Filed On: August 9, 2023, Case #: 22-1293, Categories: Fraud, forfeiture
J. Jacobs finds that the district court improperly granted a default judgment to authorities in a claim for $8,000 seized during a search of a woman's home as part of an investigation into her then-boyfriend's alleged drug trafficking. Her request to lift the default entry and to file an untimely claim to the money should have been weighed under the more permissive "good cause" standard rather than the stricter "excusable neglect" benchmark because it was made before final judgment was entered. Vacated.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Jacobs, Filed On: August 4, 2023, Case #: 22-659, Categories: Criminal Procedure, forfeiture