Civil Forfeiture: A Legal Case Study

There is a significant amount of court cases that show the system is corrupt when it comes to civil forfeiture, but is it a procedural issue or is it “policing for profit?” In 2014, Tan Nguyen left the casino with $50,000 in winnings. He was pulled over by a Nevada Deputy Lee Dove for speeding, and after a search of his vehicle his money was confiscated for no drug related reason, except for the amount of cash. Nguyen had to file an “innocent owner” claim to get his winning back from the county. Humboldt County settled with Nguyen for the full amount being reimbursed, but also received $10,000 to cover attorney fees. This can be considered a possibility of procedural issues in Humboldt County, but then again Deputy Dove may be “policing for profit.” Nguyen’s attorney has a shared settlement when Matt Lee’s $2,400 was confiscated during a routine traffic stop that also resulted in an imaginary link to drugs. There are Oklahoma cases that brought to light that civil asset forfeiture is used for revenue purposes without the actual possibility for criminal activity. A recent case involved a Wagoner County Sheriff Bob Colbert and his Deputy Jeff Gragg, being charged with conspiracy to receive a
Eh Wuh is the volunteer ban manager for the Burmese Christian band and happened to have $53,000 in cash on hand. The money was raised by the band for Has Thoo Lei Orphanage in Thailand. During the stop a Sheriff Deputy advised the drug dog alerted on the vehicle and Wuh agree to a search. The Deputy found the cash, but no drugs or paraphernalia in the vehicle. Wuh was detained for six hours before releasing him. The Muskogee County Sheriff’s Department kept the $53,000 claiming it was “drug proceeds.” After filing an “innocent owner” claim, the proceeds were found not guilty under the civil forfeiture law and have been returned to the Burmese Christian