Customers of U.S. Private Vaults are suing the FBI over its attempt to confiscate gold and silver, jewelry and $86 million in cash from safe deposit boxes.
When FBI agents asked for permission to rip hundreds of safe deposit boxes from the walls of a Beverly Hills business and haul them away, U.S. Magistrate Steve Kim set some strict limits on the raid.
“This warrant does not authorize a criminal search or seizure of the contents of the safety deposit boxes,” Kim’s March 17 seizure warrant declared.Yet the FBI is now trying to confiscate $86 million in cash and millions of dollars more in jewelry and other valuables that agents found in 369 of the boxes.
If the FBI wanted to search the boxes, the lawyers say, it first needed to meet the standard for a court-issued warrant: Probable cause that evidence of specific crimes would be found. Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the office, denied the government was misusing its powers by trying to confiscate box holders’ belongings.In general, Mrozek said, a number of factors would lead the FBI to pursue forfeiture of the boxes’ contents — such as large stacks of cash kept by a person with a criminal record or no known source of income.
The FBI has returned the contents of about 75 boxes and plans to give back the items found in at least 175 more, because there was no evidence of criminality, Mrozek said. Federal agents have not determined who owns what was stored in many other boxes.The indictment says U.S. Private Vaults marketed itself to attract criminals who wanted to store valuables anonymously and keep tax authorities at bay. An owner and a manager of U.S.
The FBI seized it, rejected his requests to return it and is now moving to confiscate it without explanation.“They just kind of stole my money,” said Ruiz, whose most recent job was at Gate Gourmet, an airline caterer.
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