Rolex watches, Cartier bracelets and $86 million in CASH in deposit boxes seized by FBI ‘total abuse of constitutional rights’, civil rights lawyers argue
- Owners of Cartier bracelets, Rolex watches and their cash savings are fighting the FBI after they were confiscated from safes.
- The goods were seized in a March 2021 raid on a Beverly Hills safe business that authorities say was a front for money laundering.
- The tenants claim the government violated Fourth and Fifth Amendment protections by seizing their property.
Owners of Cartier bracelets, Rolex watches and gold bars are suing the FBI to confiscate their property from safe deposit boxes and refuse to return it.
About $86 million in cash, as well as numerous jewelry and other valuables, were seized in an FBI raid of a Beverly Hills safe business in March 2021.
The business was charged with money laundering, and a judge issued a search warrant for the FBI.
Agents seized nearly 1,400 safes from private U.S. vaults that were regularly used by “unsavory individuals to store the proceeds of crime,” according to court documents.
However, depositors who were not indicted or charged with any crime kept their savings and valuable assets under “administrative forfeiture,” Fox News reported.
Vault renter Linda Martin (pictured) is one of the plaintiffs in the case against the government.
Civil asset forfeiture allows the government to seize property and funds from people allegedly involved in a crime without bringing charges against the owner.
U.S. Private Vaults ultimately pleaded guilty to money laundering, but U.S. prosecutors said they did not pursue any other criminal charges.
A spokesman declined to comment on the case Thursday.
Now a group of safety deposit box tenants who had their assets seized but not charged have filed a class action lawsuit against the government.
The tenants argue that the government violated Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure, as well as Fifth Amendment protections against the taking of private property without compensation.
“I felt misled, I felt angry, I still feel angry,” lodge tenant Linda Martin told Fox News.
“They haven’t told us why they took our money, they haven’t told us why yet,” she added.
“It’s been a long road to getting the government to take responsibility for this,” another plaintiff, Travis May, said after Thursday’s hearing.
Paul and Jennifer Snitko (pictured) are among those whose assets were seized by the FBI without notice.
Attorney Rob Johnson (pictured) of the Institute for Justice is leading the class action lawsuit against the government.
“Obviously the journey is not over yet. But today it was very good to see that these concerns are being taken seriously,” he explained.
The case will be heard by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals after a lower court sided with the FBI last year.
“I think the public is seeing this and recognizing that this is just a total violation of people’s constitutional rights,” attorney Rob Johnson of the Institute for Justice said Thursday.
During a court appearance Thursday, Victor Rogers argued on behalf of the government that the FBI did its best to reunite customers with their property by posting an ad in the USPV storefront.
“All they had to do was contact the FBI,” Rogers said.
The FBI declined to comment on the progress of the trial.
The agency calls forfeiture an important tool for “disrupting and dismantling criminal and terrorist organizations and punishing criminals” as well as “compensating victims and protecting communities.”