75,000 Seized In Civil Asset Forfeiture

[ozzrokk]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/why-the-tsa-posted-a-photo-of-a-passenger%E2%80%99s-cash-filled-luggage-on-twitter/ar-AAcmBmr

 

 

 

 

 

Earlier today, Transportation Security Administration spokesperson Lisa Farbstein sent the following tweet from her verified account:

If you had $75,000, is this how you'd transport it? Just asking! TSA @ #RIC spotted this traveler's preferred method. pic.twitter.com/lriNbivmsT

The photo, from the Richmond airport, shows a passenger's luggage containing $75,000 in cash. Farbstein asks, "Is this how you'd transport it?" Most people would not, but there is nothing illegal about simply checking a bag containing $75,000, or carrying it with you on the plane. Passengers aren't under any obligation to report large sums of cash unless they're traveling internationally, though the TSA recommends that passengers consider asking for a private screening.

 

© The Washington Post Asked about the incident via e-mail, Farbstein said that "the carry-on bag of the passenger alarmed because of the large unknown bulk in his carry-on bag. When TSA officers opened the bag to determine what had caused the alarm, the money was sitting inside. Quite unusual. TSA alerted the airport police, who were investigating." Farbstein didn't respond to a question about whether posting photos of the man's luggage and property violated his privacy, nor did she offer any more details on the situation.

But the incident underscores the intense scrutiny some Americans face when they board public transportation carrying cash. A 2009 TSA blog post explained what the TSA does when agents encounter large sums of cash.

Sometimes a TSA officer may ask a passenger who is carrying a large sum of cash to account for the money. You have asked why such a question is posed and whether a passenger is required to answer.

In this case, the cash was seized by a federal agency, most likely the Drug Enforcement Agency, according to Richmond airport spokesman Troy Bell. "I don't believe the person was issued a summons or a citation," he said. "The traveler was allowed to continue on his way."

 

If true, that would make this incident just the latest case of civil asset forfeiture at the nation's major transportation hubs. In recent months several high-profile stories have surfaced of passengers who had large sums of cash seized by the DEA, including a young man at an Amtrak stop, a college student at the Cincinnati airport, and a nail salon owner in New York. While the DEA took the cash in these cases under suspicion of its involvement in drug trafficking, no drug charges been filed in any of the cases.

 

This is all legal under the laws governing civil asset forfeiture, and there's no question that carrying large sums of cash is unusual. But many critics of the practice, including some in Congress, are calling for a major overhaul of civil forfeiture, saying too many people have had their assets seized inappropriately.

Edited July 1, 2015 by ozzrokk

[pic book]

Indeed, you have cited a much-needed over-haul.  Would prefer to see seizure only if convicted on salient charges.  if there isn't a conviction, give it all back and make the victims whole.  This is a constitutional issue.   

[pic book]

we say we have a constitutional right to equal rights (protection of personal property) under the law.

[AmishRnot4ganja]

Could it be that this guy is a dispensary owner who has to deal in cash because he isn't allowed to use banks?