USSS Seizures of Cryptocurrency for Forfeiture

Special Deputized Task Force Officers for the United States Secret Service (“USSS”) investigate fraud cases involving cryptocurrency. If the fraud victim’s funds are put into a crypto wallet, USSS can analyze the cryptocurrency transactions as the funds are transferred through different wallets.

Based on blockchain analysis, the funds might be traced to a cryptocurrency exchange, such as Binance, MEXC Global, or Coinbaise. USSS can request information about that wallet from the exchange to find the account number, the User ID associated with that number, the user’s name, email address, and a copy of any identification they used to open the account.

Based on the user’s account information, identity documents, and access logs, law enforcement might conclude that the individual responsible for the fraud resides outside the United States.

Under 18 U.S.C. § 984, a court may order the forfeiture of funds in a bank account into which monies subject to forfeiture have been deposited without the need to trace the funds currently in the account to the specific deposits that are subject to forfeiture up to the amount of the funds subject to forfeiture that have been deposited into the account within the past one-year period.

Section 984 (a) provides in part:

(1) In any forfeiture action in rem in which the subject property is cash [or] funds deposited in an account in a financial institution

(A) it shall not be necessary for the Government to identify the specific property involved in the offense that is the basis for the forfeiture; and

(B) it shall not be a defense that the property involved in such an offense has been removed and replaced by identical property.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (c), any identical property found in the same place or account as the property involved in the offense that is the basis for the forfeiture shall be subject to forfeiture under this section.

18 U.S.C. § 984(b) provides:

“No action pursuant to this section to forfeit property not traceable directly to the offense that is the basis for the forfeiture may be commenced more than 1 year from the date of the offense.”

Thus, under Section 984, a court may order the civil forfeiture of monies found in a bank account into which deposits of criminal proceeds subject to forfeiture had been made, up to the amount of the forfeitable deposits that have been made into the account within the prior one-year period, without the need for tracing the funds to be forfeited to any of the specific forfeitable deposits.

Agents with the USSS might seize the cryptocurrency found in that account from Binance or another exchange. USSS will then allege that there exists probable cause to believe that the cryptocurrency seized from the account qualifies as funds:

• traceable to, and are therefore proceeds of, a wire fraud offense or offenses, committed in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343;
• involved in a money laundering violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956 and 1957;
• subject to civil forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. §§ 981(a)(1)(C); and
• subject to forfeiture in the United States under 18 U.S.C. sections 981(b) and 981(b)(3).

Attorney for USSS Forfeiture of Cryptocurrency

If your cryptocurrency account was seized for forfeiture by USSS, contact an experienced civil asset forfeiture attorney at Sammis Law Firm. Attorney Leslie Sammis helps innocent owners recover their crypto after their account is frozen or their funds are seized.

If the seizure for forfeiture falls under state law, including the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act (FCFA), attorney Leslie Sammis can help you file a request for an adversarial preliminary hearing in the circuit court. At the APH hearing, she can retain a forensic accountant to explain why there is no nexus between the alleged fraud and the funds found in your account.

If the seizure for forfeiture falls under federal law, including the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000, attorney Leslie Sammis can help you file a claim for court action and answer any complaint for forfeiture. She can help you file a motion to dismiss or represent you at trial. Read more about seizures of cryptocurrency for forfeiture.

Many cryptocurrency forfeiture cases are referred to us by other attorneys in the United States or abroad. In other cases, the owner of the cryptocurrency account will contact us directly.

Call 813-250-0500.

This article was last updated on Friday, December 13, 2024.