Federal Asset Seizure: Responding to Forfeiture Actions

The federal government doesn't need to prove you're guilty to take everything you own. They just need you to miss a deadline. In 85% of federal forfeiture cases, the property owner is never charged with a crime. Read that again. Never charged. Not arrested, not indicted, not convicted - never even accused of doing anything wrong. The government keeps their money anyway. Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to explain exactly how federal asset forfeiture works - including the parts they don't tell you until it's too late.

Here's the thing most people don't understand about forfeiture. The government doesn't actually sue YOU. They sue your property. Your car becomes a defendant. Your bank account becomes a defendant. Your house becomes a defendant. This is called "in rem" forfeiture, and it means your constitutional rights don't apply the way you think they do. You're not innocent until proven guilty here. Your property is guilty until YOU prove it innocent. That's the fundamental inversion that makes this whole system possible.

Only 1% of federally seized property is ever returned to its original owner. That's not a typo. One percent. The other 99% remains with the government forever, including all those who were never charged. According to Department of Justice Inspector General reports, only about 8.4% of cash seizures between 2007 and 2016 resulted in any return whatsoever - full or partial - to the person it was taken from. The system isn't designed to determine guilt. It's designed to run out the clock.

The 35-Day Guillotine: Why Most Forfeitures Never See a Judge

Here's the part that destroys people. When the government seizes your property, you have exactly 35 days from when they mail you the notice to file a verified claim contesting the forfeiture. Miss that deadline by even one day? Your property is forfeited automatically. No hearing. No judge. No second chances. Game over. Everything you owned is gone.

The 35-day window is measured from when the notice is mailed - not when you receive it. So if the letter sits in your mailbox for a week, if you were traveling, if you didn't check your mail because your life was falling apart after the seizure, too bad. The clock was running whether you knew it or not. The government doesn't care about the practical reality of receiving mail. They care about when they dropped the letter in the mailbox.

About 80% of federal forfeitures happen through what's called "administrative forfeiture." This means no court ever reviews the seizure. A federal agency simply takes your property and keeps it unless you actively fight back within that 35-day window. If you don't file that claim, the forfeiture becomes final without any judge ever looking at the evidence. The entire system is designed so that inaction equals loss. Most people don't realize that they're fighting against a process that assumes they're guilty from day one.

Think about what that means for your life. The government can seize your life savings, your vehicle, your home - and if you don't respond perfectly within 35 days, they keep it forever. No trial. No hearing. No due process as you understand it. The Supreme Court had a chance to expand due process protections in Culley v. Marshall in May 2024. They declined. Your on your own now, and the system isnt changing anytime soon.

Your Property Is Guilty Until YOU Prove Otherwise

In regular criminal cases, the prosecution has to prove your guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. That standard exists because we believe in the principle that it's better for ten guilty people to go free than for one innocent person to be punished. Not here. In civil forfeiture, the burden of proof is completely reversed. The government just needs to show by "preponderance of the evidence" - basically, more likely than not - that your property is connected to a crime. Then its your job to prove otherwise.

The most common defense is called the "innocent owner" defense. But dont let the name fool you. This isnt like being declared innocent in a criminal trial. You have to affirmatively prove that you either didn't know about any illegal activity connected to your property, or that you took all reasonable steps to prevent it. You have to prove a negative. And the burden is entirely on you - not on the government.

Heres were it gets absurd. Unlike criminal proceedings, you don't get a public defender. The government seizes your assets - often including the money you would use to pay a lawyer - and then you have to find thousands of dollars to hire an attorney to fight to get your own property back. If you can't afford it, you lose. Thats the design. The system basically creates a situation where the people who can least afford to fight are the ones who lose the most.

At Spodek Law Group, we see clients who never imagined they'd face this situation. There are no drug dealers or money launderers. There are regular people who had cash in their car during a traffic stop, or who received wire transfers that triggered suspicion, or whose bank accounts were frozen based on algorithmic alerts. The connection to actual crime is often tenuous at best. But once the property is seized, proving your innocence is your problem - not the government's. And most people find out that proving innocence is much harder then it sounds.

The Economic Trap: When Fighting Costs More Than Losing

This is where the system gets truly cynical. According to research from the Institute for Justice, the median amount seized in civil forfeiture cases is $1,276. That's the middle-half of all seizures are for less. Think about that for a second. Were not talking about millions of dollars from drug kingpins. Were talking about amounts that regular people carry around. But what is the average cost of hiring an attorney to fight a forfeiture? About $3,000.

Do the math. If the government takes $1,000 from you, it will cost you $3,000 to fight to get it back. Even if you win, you loose money. This isnt an accident. Its by design. The economics are structured so that most people have no rational choice but to walk away and let the government keep their money. The system punishes you for standing up for youself.

And walking away is exactly what most people do. In states that track this data, fewer then one-fifth of people whose property was seized ever file a claim to get it back. In Colorado, only 1% of forfeitures are contested. Not because these people were guilty - but because fighting was economically impossible. They ran the numbers and realized that the government had already won.

The government knows this. They count on it. Why bother proving that someones guilty of a crime when you can just take there stuff and wait for them to give up? The forfeiture fund has grown from $93.7 million in 1986 to over $1 billion annually today. Between 2000 and 2019, federal agencies seized $45.6 billion through forfeiture. As of September 2023, the U.S. Marshals Service had 25,793 assets on hand valued at $5.99 billion. That's not about fighting crime. That's about revenue generation disguised as law enforcement.

Equitable Sharing: The Federal Loophole That Kills State Reforms

Maybe you're thinking: "My state reformed civil forfeiture. I'm protected." Probably not. This is one of the things that makes people angriest once they understand it.

Sixteen states now require a criminal conviction before assets can be permanently forfeited. Four states - Maine, Nebraska, New Mexico, and North Carolina - have essentially banned civil forfeiture altogether. These are real reforms that should protect people. Reformers worked for years to pass these laws. But theres a massive loophole called "equitable sharing" that makes most of these protections meaningless in practice.

Here's how it works. Your local police can seize your property and then "adopt" the case to a federal agency like the DEA or FBI. The federal government then processes the forfeiture under federal law, which has far fewer protections than most state laws. When the forfeiture is complete, up to 80% of the proceeds go back to your local police department. The state law is completely bypassed. Your constitutional rights under state law become irrelevant.

In Missouri, the state constitution specifically directs all forfeiture proceeds to public schools. This wasn't some obscure regulation - it was in the Constitution. But in 2018, Missouri police agencies kept over $9 million for themselves through equitable sharing while sending only $202,000 to schools. The constitutional requirement is simply ignored because federal law provides a workaround. The incentives are to powerful.

Between 2000 and 2019, the federal government paid out $8.8 billion to state and local agencies through equitable sharing. That's the incentive structure. That's why your local cops might prefer federal forfeiture even when state law would protect you better. And that's why state-level reform, while important, doesn't guarantee you anything. You can live in a state that "banned" civil forfeiture and still have your property taken through the federal system.

What To Do the Moment Your Property Is Seized

If federal agents or local police seize your property, what you do in the next few hours and days will determine whether you ever see it again. Here's what Todd Spodek tells every client who walks through our door after a seizure. These steps matter more than almost anything else in the process.

First, document absolutely everything. Get a receipt for what was seized - you have a legal right to one. Note the badge numbers, agency names, and exactly what they told you. Write down what happened while its fresh in your mind. Take photos if possible. This documentation will be critical later when you're trying to prove that your property was legitimately yours.

Second, do NOT talk to investigators without an attorney present. They may try to interview you, ask you to explain the source of your funds, or suggest that cooperation will help you get your property back. It wont. Anything you say can and will be used to justify the forfeiture. They're building a case against your property, and everything you say becomes evidence. Stay silent and ask for a lawyer.

Third, call an attorney immediately. Not in a few days. Not after you figure things out. Right now. That 35-day clock starts the moment the notice is mailed, and you need professional help to navigate the procedural maze that follows. Every day you wait is a day closer to loosing everything.

Fourth, watch your mail obsessively. The "Notice of Seizure" letter is your official starting gun for the 35-day window. The government has 60 days to send it, but once its mailed, your clock starts whether you recieve it or not. Check your mail every single day. If you miss that letter, you lose by default. Set reminders. Have someone else check if you're out of town. Treat that mailbox like your life depends on it - because financially, it might.

The Claim That Saves Your Property: Filing Within the 35-Day Window

If your going to fight for your property, the verified claim is your lifeline. This document must be filed with the seizing agency within 35 days of the notice being mailed. It must identify the specific property you are claiming, state your interest in the property, and be made under oath, subject to the penalty of perjury. Getting this claim right matters more then almost anything else in the process.

Getting this claim right matters. If it dosent meet the technical requirements, it may be rejected as invalid - and you could loose your property on a technicality even though you tried to fight. The claim needs to be specific and complete. Vague statements won't cut it. You need to describe exactly what was taken and exactly why it belongs to you.

Once a valid claim is filed, something important happens: the government can no longer just keep your property through administrative forfeiture. They have to actually file a complaint in federal district court within 90 days. If they dont, they have to return your property. Filing the claim forces there hand. It makes them prove there case in front of a judge. This is the first time actual judicial oversight enters the picture.

Now, this is were the real legal battle begins. You'll need to prepare evidence supporting your innocent owner defense. Your going to need documentation showing where your money came from, how you acquired the property, and why its not connected to any criminal activity. Bank statements. Tax returns. Receipts. Employment records. The burden is on you, and the standard of proof - preponderance of the evidence - means you need to tip the scales even slightly in your favor.

Some people file claims themselves without an attorney. We dont recomend it for most cases. The procedural traps are everywhere, and one mistake can forfeit everything. But if the amount seized is less then what an attorney would cost, you may have no choice. At minimum, make absolutly sure you meet every deadline and every technical requirement. Double-check everything. Then check it again.

When Forfeiture Fights Are Worth It - And When There Not

At Spodek Law Group, we believe in being honest with clients about their cases - even when the truth is uncomfortable. Sometimes fighting a forfeiture makes sense. Sometimes it dosent. Heres how to think through the decision with clear eyes.

Fighting makes sense when: the amount seized is substantial (generally $10,000 or more), you have strong evidence of innocent ownership, you have the resources to sustain a legal battle that could take months or years, and the source of the funds is clearly legitimate and documentable. If all of these things are true, fighting can absolutely work.

Fighting may not make sense when: the amount is small relative to legal costs, you have no documentation supporting legitimate ownership, the property was genuinely connected to illegal activity (even if you weren't charged), or prolonging the fight creates more stress than closure would. Sometimes the rational choice is to walk away even though it feels wrong.

This isnt about giving up. Its about making rational decisions with the resources you have. If the government took $2,000 and fighting will cost $5,000 in legal fees, walking away might be the right choice - as unjust as that feels. If they took $50,000 and you can prove its legitimate, fight with everything you have. The calculation is different for everyone.

Todd Spodek has seen cases go both ways. Weve recovered significant assets for clients who fought strategicaly and persistently. Weve also counseled clients to accept partial settlements when the math didnt favor a full fight. Every case is diffrent, and anyone who tells you otherwise isnt being honest about how this system works.

What Remission and Mitigation Can Do - And What They Cant

If you missed the 35-day claim deadline or if the forfeiture has already been finalized, you're not completely out of options. You can file a petition for remission or mitigation with the federal agency that processed the forfeiture. But you need to understand what this is and isn't before you get your hopes up.

A remission petition isn't a challenge to the forfeiture itself. It assumes the forfeiture was valid and asks the government to exercise discretion in returning some or all of the property anyway. You're essentially asking for mercy, not asserting a right. The outcome depends entirely on whether the agency decides to be generous.

The government considers various factors when deciding on remission petitions: whether you were truly uninvolved in any criminal activity, whether complete forfeiture would be excessive relative to the offense, whether you cooperated with the investigation, and whether you have evidence of hardship. But the decision is entirely discretionary. There are no guarantees, and the denial rate is high. Most petitions fail.

Mitigation is similar but typically involves reducing the forfeiture rather then eliminating it completly. You might get a portion of your property back even if the government keeps some. Again, its discretionary. You are not entitled to anything.

If you still have time to file a claim, do that instead. The claim forces judicial review. Remission just asks for a favor. Only pursue remission if the claim deadline has already passed or if you have strategic reasons to prefer the administrative route. A claim is a right. Remission is a request.

Why Spodek Law Group Fights Federal Forfeiture Cases

Civil asset forfeiture represents one of the most significant threats to property rights in America today. It's a system where the government can take everything you own without ever proving you're guilty of anything - and where most people simply can't afford to fight back. That's wrong. And it's why we take these cases seriously.

At Spodek Law Group, we take these cases because we believe in the principle that your property belongs to you until a court says otherwise. We believe that the 35-day deadline shouldn't be a trap that swallows people's life savings. And we believe that everyone deserves a chance to fight - even when the system is stacked against them.

Todd Spodek built this firm on the idea that every client deserves the truth about their situation and a realistic path forward. That means being honest about when fighting makes sense and when it dosent. It means explaining the risks and the costs upfront. And it means fighting aggressively when we take a case. We don't promise outcomes we can't deliver. We do promise that we'll give your case everything it deserves.

If the federal government has seized your property, your bank account, your vehicle, or anything else of value - don't wait. That 35-day clock is already running. Every day you delay is a day closer to losing everything you worked for. The system doesn't care about fairness. It cares about deadlines.

Call Spodek Law Group at 212-300-5196. The consultation is free. Missing that deadline isnt.