Did you receive a CAFRA notice of seizure letter in the mail? Was your money seized at the airport? Did you fail to declare $10,000 or more when crossing the border? Were you traveling with bulk cash?
The most important part of your notice of seizure are its deadlines. Typically, a person has 35 days from the date the notice of seizure is mailed to deliver their claim to CBP, DEA, or whoever the federal seizing agency is. However, your deadline may be different, depending on the option you choose. Be sure to READ your notice of seizure CAREFULLY and follow the deadline listed in it. Call us if you need help reading your notice or understanding your deadline. Initial consultation is free. If you miss the deadline, your claim will likely be rejected as untimely. In some cases, an extension of time may be granted by the seizing agency, but you should not rely on getting an extension. Do not miss the deadline!
Petitions can be intimidating for those who have never written one before, including lawyers. Forfeiture law is complicated and the rules are full of pitfalls that can ruin a winning case. Do not attempt to write a petition yourself. It is nearly impossible to reverse a denial, so it is important to get it right the first time. We have won many petitions and are extremely familiar with the process. If your case has the evidence we need, there is a good chance we can get your money returned. A winning petition must contain very specific information and needs to be presented in a certain manner. Drafting a petition should not be left to any person or lawyer who has no experience or knowledge of forfeiture law including criminal defense attorneys who may handle a forfeiture case from time to time. To have the greatest chance of success, you need a lawyer who knows forfeiture law and who has a record for winning petitions, like we do. Petitions should be written in a clear, concise, and intelligent manner. They must also conform to controlling federal law, such as 19 CFR 1618, 19 CFR 171.1, and 19 CFR 171.2. Most importantly, they need to be based on evidence.
Also, when making an offer in compromise, a check for the amount offered must be included with the offer. This is a strange policy because CBP already has your money and could just take its portion from that amount, but their rules require otherwise. For an offer to be considered, it must be accompanied by a check in the amount being offered. When a person’s money is seized, making an offer in compromise may not be an option if you do not have the money needed to make the offer.
This option is the worst option of all – abandonment of seized property. If your money was seized, but for whatever reason you do not want to get it back, you can abandon it. If you wish to abandon the property, you do not need to do anything at all and can totally ignore the notice. If you feel like being nice to CBP, you could also send back the Election of Proceedings Form included with your notice of seizure and indicating that you wish to abandon the property. If you are unsure what to do, simply call us and ask. Don’t assume your claim cannot be won. Initial consultation is free.
In 99% of the cases we handle, we either file a petition or a claim for judicial action. Knowing when to choose one option over the other is key. When helping a client, attorney Brian Silber reflects on his nearly 20 years of experience and his many successes in recovering seized money for clients. When a claim is filed, administrative forfeiture is brought to an immediate stop and the case is transferred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for court action. The difference between filing a petition and filing a claim is very big. When a petition is filed, a claimant deals directly with the seizing agency who makes a ruling in-house. When a claim is filed, the case is transferred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and a federal prosecutor will decide to either return the money or file a forfeiture lawsuit in federal court. Depending on the circumstances, some cases have greater chances of success by requesting court action whereas others have greater chances by filing a petition. Each case is unique and needs to be analyzed according to its own facts and circumstances. Not sure what to do? Don’t know if you should file a claim or petition? Call us – we can take a look at your case and let you know what we think. Initial consultation is free. 954-462-3636 (Main Office Number) 09-02-2021
