Asset Forfeiture Lawyer
Law enforcement take your money and property?
You have legal rights to your property that was seized. Hire a Board Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer to fight for your money and property. You only have a limited amount of time to act after forfeiture to contest the legality of the seizure. Don’t go at it alone and lose your hard-earned income. Nicholas G. Matassini has been Board Certified in Criminal Trial Law for over a decade. He has over 20 years of experience and a proven track record, including asset forfeiture cases.
Is your lawyer Board Certified?
Board certification recognizes attorneys’ special knowledge, skills, and proficiency in various areas of law and professionalism and ethics in practice. Established in 1982 by the Florida Supreme Court, board certification helps consumers identify specialists in various areas of law. It’s the gold standard for identifying qualified legal counsel in Florida.
Criminal vs Civil Forfeiture
A criminal forfeiture action is brought as part of a criminal case. It requires that charges be filed against a defendant and the property used or derived from the crime as well. Usually, an individual is convicted of a crime before the Government is able to forfeit any seized property. If the individual enters into a guilty plea, the court will most likely order any seized property be forfeited based on the terms of the plea agreement.
When there are no criminal charges filed against an individual, an action is brought as a civil forfeiture for the property at issue when an individual is suspected of being involved in illegal activity. This is a civil case that will require a judge to determine whether the property at issue should be subject to forfeiture.
An administrative forfeiture permits a federal or state agency such as the United States Department of Homeland Security, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Justice, and a sheriff’s office from a local county to forfeit property without the filing of an action in court. This means there is no judge involved who will determine whether you should get the property back.
The government is required to give notice to the owner of the seized property that it is subject to forfeiture and an individual will always have an opportunity to challenge the seizure. However, there are deadlines in which to do so, and it is therefore important to seek the advice and counsel of an attorney before proceeding to do so.
Justifications for the Government Seizing Property
The state of Florida approved the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act. Civil forfeiture cases that are filed in state court will be managed by a circuit court judge in the civil division. In contrast to criminal actions which are dominated by The Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, civil forfeiture actions are controlled by the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure.
The most common types of asset forfeited include:
- Contraband: Any illegal property. Smuggled weapons, smuggled animals, narcotics, stolen property is categorized as contraband since they are all basically unlawful.
- Profits From Illegal Activity: Any property that’s linked to illegal activity. It can get complicated because, for example, when law enforcement charges someone of being a drug dealer and affirms that narcotic sales are their income, then they may say that even single purchases come from illegal activities.
- Commission of a Crime Instrumentalities or tools: This is any specific property that was used to support, execute, or fund the crime. For instance, if a drug dealer had a house where drugs were stored and manufactured and used as well as an instrument for drug transportation, then both can be seized by law enforcement. Even when the defendant is found innocent, if the house is linked to illegal activity, it will be taken.
Establish Legal Defenses Right Away
There are many legal defenses available to someone fighting to keep their money or property from being seized. Tampa asset forfeiture attorney Nicholas G. Matassini will be able to inform you of the best defense to use for your case during a free, confidential consultation. Several defense strategies can be used to help you regain your property:
- Innocent owner defense: Showing that the property owner is innocent and did not know about or consent to any illegal use of their property.
- Unreasonable delay defense: Demonstrating that the government delay in filing charges hindered your ability to get your property back.
- Disproportional fine defense: If the amount of property seized does not seem in proportion to the severity of the offense, confiscating property may be considered unjust and unconstitutional.
- Statutory defenses: Other, more specific defense strategies are often available under federal or state laws.
Widespread practice by law enforcement agencies is now a cash cow
In 2018 alone, 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. departments of Justice and the Treasury forfeited over $3 billion. This is the year for which we have data from the largest number of states.
Looking at a longer time period, 2002 to 2018, 20 states and the federal government forfeited over $63 billion. The remaining states did not provide data for those 17 years. Since 2000, states and the federal government forfeited a combined total of at least $68.8 billion. And because not all states provided full data, this figure drastically underestimates forfeiture’s true scope.
Among the states with 2018 data, Florida, Texas, Illinois, California, and New York took in the most forfeiture revenue. But once state populations are factored in, Florida, Illinois, Tennessee, Rhode Island, and Nebraska used forfeiture most extensively.
State and Federal Laws Make Forfeiture Easy and Profitable for Law Enforcement
While some agencies have adopted some form of forfeiture reform in recent years over national criticism in leading newspapers, unfortunately, few of these reforms have tackled the central problems with civil forfeiture laws studied by experts.
Forfeiture Is Big and It Happens Nationwide
Many jurisdictions fail to provide a full accounting of forfeiture activity, so any estimate of forfeiture’s scope will be undercounted. Still, by any measure, forfeiture activity is extensive nationwide, sending billions of dollars to government coffers.
- In 2018 alone, 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. departments of Justice and the Treasury forfeited over $3 billion. This is the year for which we have data from the largest number of states.
- Looking at a longer time period, 2002 to 2018, 20 states and the federal government forfeited over $63 billion. The remaining states did not provide data for those 17 years.
- Since 2000, states and the federal government forfeited a combined total of at least $68.8 billion. And because not all states provided full data, this figure drastically underestimates forfeiture’s true scope.
- Among the states with 2018 data, Florida, Texas, Illinois, California, and New York took in the most forfeiture revenue. But once state populations are factored in, Florida, Illinois, Tennessee, Rhode Island, and Nebraska used forfeiture most extensively.
Asset Forfeiture Attorneys Defending the Accused in State and Federal Courts since 1976
Hire the law firm business executives, musicians, and politicians use when it’s all on the line. Consider a Board Certified Criminal Trial Attorney for your legal issues. When the stakes are high, there’s no room for trial and error. Choose a firm with a proven track record. Contact Nicholas G. Matassini right now for a free, confidential consultation.
