Non-Owner Victim

What happens if the government seizes money for forfeiture that belongs to a victim? The victim’s rights depend on several factors, including whether the case is classified as:

• a civil asset forfeiture case; or
• a criminal asset forfeiture case.

Ideally, the government would return the money to the victim quickly, especially when the person who committed the crime does not claim the seized asset.

Unfortunately, the government takes a different tactic by encouraging the victim NOT to make a “claim for court action” in a civil case or file an ancillary claim in a criminal case. Those claims allow the victim to contest the seizure for forfeiture in court. Instead, the government will encourage the victim to file a petition for remission or mitigation.

Sometimes, when the government seizes a victim’s property from a fraudster, it never returns the property to the victim. If the victim never files the appropriate type of claim for court action, they have no recourse if the government decides not to return their property. The government simply sends a form letter deny them any relief and explaining why the court has no jurisdiction to decide otherwise since they failed to file the appropriate claim for court action.

Since the government wants ultimate control over what happens to the seized property, it might try to convince the victim they are a “non-owner” of the asset. A non-owner victim might have a “standing” issue.

Various factors determine whether a victim has “standing” to file a claim as an owner or non-owner. To complicate matters even more, courts in different jurisdictions take different approaches to acknowledging a victim’s standing as a claimant or classifying them as an owner or non-owner victim.

Attorney for the “Non-Owner” Victim

If the government seized money from a fraudster who stole your property, contact an experienced federal asset forfeiture attorney to determine your rights.

We can explain whether you have standing to file a claim for court action or whether your only recourse is to file a request for petition for remission or mitigation.

Attorney Leslie Sammis at Sammis Law Firm is experienced in representing victims in fraud cases, schemes to defraud, and scams. Gather all the records and contact our office to set up a consultation with an experienced asset forfeiture attorney.

When appropriate, we can help a victim of a financial crime file a Petition For Remission to seek compensation from the government for property it forfeited and liquidated.

Read more about the problems with filing a petition for mitigation or remission.

Call 813-250-0500.

Definition of “Non-Owner” Victim

A Non-Owner Victim is a person who has incurred a pecuniary loss as a direct result of the criminal actions, or related actions, perpetrated by other individual(s) which led to the forfeiture of personal or real property held by that offender(s).

A Non-Owner Victim may file a Petition for Remission if the Non-Owner Victim can establish that:

• they had no knowledge of, or was not willfully blind to, the violations giving rise to the forfeiture action; and
• they did all that reasonably could be expected under the circumstances to prevent the activity giving rise to the forfeiture or the illegal use of the property.

A Non-Owner Victim does not include someone who acquires a right to sue the perpetrator of the criminal offense for any loss by assignment, subrogation, inheritance, or otherwise from the actual victim, unless that person has acquired an actual ownership interest in the forfeited property; provided however, that if a victim has received compensation from insurance or any other source with respect to a pecuniary loss, remission may be granted to the third party who provided the compensation, up to the amount of the victim’s pecuniary loss.

Notice of Forfeiture and Request for Petition for Remission or Mitigation

If you fail to file a claim for court action, the forfeiture might be granted without our input. In those cases, the Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section of the U.S. Department of Justice might send you a letter regarding a “Notice of Forfeiture and Request for Petition for Remission or Mitigation Regarding United States v. [Description of Property].”

The letter might explain that you were identified as a possible victim who incurred a monetary loss from the criminal offense or offenses underlying the forfeiture of property involved in the above-referenced civil or criminal forfeiture action.

The letter contains important information about possibly recovering some of your monetary loss. This civil or criminal forfeiture action might arise from the seizure of certain funds related to a scam.

The government agency that seized the property, including the United States Secret Service (“USSS”), might execute a federal seizure warrant to seize property, including U.S. Currency in a bank account associated with the scams.

The United States Attorney’s Office might file a civil or criminal forfeiture action against the property. After that, the court might have ordered forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. §§ 981(a)(1)(C) and (A).

Under 28 C.F.R. Part 9, once a court orders an asset forfeited to the United States, victims who have incurred a monetary loss from an offense underlying the forfeiture, or from an offense related to the offense underlying the forfeiture, may seek remission of forfeited assets from the United States by submitting a Petition for Remission or Mitigation (“Petition”) to the U.S. Attorney for the district in which the judicial forfeiture proceedings are brought.

If you believe you are entitled to file a Petition as a victim of the offenses in the above-referenced case, you can file a Petition.

28 C.F.R. § 9.4 details the information that must be included in a Petition in order for the Petition to be considered complete.

Model Petition for Remission

The AUSA might enclose with the notice a model Petition for Remission (“Model”). Although a victim is not required to use the Model, the Model might ensure that information required by 28 C.F.R. § 9.4 is not inadvertently omitted.

Before filing the petition, you should review the pertinent Code of Federal Regulations and/or the Model.

If you choose to submit a Petition, the Petition and all supporting documentation must be delivered to the address below on or before the date listed in the notice to the address listed in the notice.

Once the time has passed for the submission of Petitions, the investigative stage of the remission process will begin. Specifically, the federal agency that investigated the underlying offense, which might be the USSS, will conduct a formal investigation as to the merits of any Petitions that have been received.

After the USSS has completed its investigation, the USSS will submit a report and recommendation to this office on whether each Petition that has been received should be granted or denied.

The appropriate U.S. Attorney’s Office will then review the USSS’s report and recommendation and make its own independent assessment of whether each Petition should be granted or denied.

The appropriate U.S. Attorney’s Office will then forward all Petitions and the reports and recommendations to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section in Washington, D.C., for review and to make the final determination.

PETITION FOR REMISSION OR MITIGATION BY A NON-OWNER VICTIM OF THE UNDERLYING OR RELATED OFFENSE OF A CRIMINAL OR CIVIL FORFEITURE ACTION BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

The model petition for remission or mitigation gives you the opportunity to explain how you are a Non-Owner Victim in this case.

The form requests that you be as “specific as possible and provide details such as significant dates, names of individuals whom you dealt with, the amount of money you claim to have lost (including specifics of the transactions resulting in the loss), and any other information that you believe would be helpful in verifying your loss.”

The form requests that you “attach documentation of your loss (copies only), including receipts, invoices, bank statements, wire transfer confirmation statements, and canceled checks, to your petition.”

The form has a section for the “NON-OWNER VICTIM’S EXPLANATION OF LOSS” where you should enter the “Total Amount of Pecuniary Loss Claimed $ (This is the total amount you claim to have lost.)

The form requests that you describe in as specific detail as possible how you were victimized. Provide all significant information, including dates, locations, names of individuals whom you dealt with, the amount of money you claim to have lost (including specifics of the transactions resulting in the loss), names and addresses of witnesses, and any other information that you believe would be helpful in verifying your loss.

The form also has a section to explain what efforts you have made to “receive compensation for my loss (describe in detail all attempts to be reimbursed and the outcome or present status of those efforts):

• I have received the following reimbursements or compensation for my losses in this matter or am aware of the following assets against which I might have recourse to compensate my losses:
• Please attach documentation of your loss (copies only), including police reports, witness statements, receipts, invoices, bank statements, wire transfer confirmation statements, canceled checks, and all other documentation that supports your claim.
• Do not attach your original documents to the petition.

The form also includes a “VICTIM CERTIFICATIONS,” which asks you to initial all of the following statements that apply to you:

• I certify that I am petitioning for the remission of the forfeited property described above because I am a victim of the crime underlying the forfeiture of that forfeited property or of a related offense.
• I have suffered a pecuniary loss as a direct result of the criminal offense that resulted in the forfeiture of the above property.
• I had no knowledge of the criminal offense underlying the forfeiture of this property while it was occurring.
• I did all that reasonably could be expected under the circumstances to prevent the activity giving rise to the forfeiture or the illegal use of the property.
• I will immediately notify the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia if I receive any compensation for the losses that I suffered in this case.

The form also includes a “DECLARATION” that says: “by signing below, I acknowledge that I understand the information I am providing in this Petition will be relied upon for purposes of determining my right to receive a petition award.”

• I hereby declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that I believe that the information I am providing in support of my petition is true and correct.
• I further certify that any documents I have submitted in support of my petition consist of unaltered copies of documents that are in my possession.

This article was last updated on Friday, December 6, 2024.