Seizure of NFTs for Civil Asset Forfeiture
Traditionally money laundering schemes focused on exploiting art, real estate, or precious metals markets to conceal or transfer illicit wealth.
Today, the newest forms of high-value digital assets create the same types of opportunities for money laundering and tax evasion.
Many of the newest schemes for money laundering involve non-fungible tokens called “NFTs.”
The legislature passed the Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework in 2020. Since then, NFTs have become even more common for criminal exploitation because they are traded anonymously or pseudonymously.
Attorney for Seizures for Forfeiture of NFT
If your NFTs or other digital assets were seized for forfeiture by agents with the state or federal government, then seek out the services of an experienced civil asset forfeiture lawyer.
Leslie Sammis is an experienced civil asset forfeiture attorney who has dealt with the seizure for forfeiture of a wide range of assets, including cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
After you learn your account is frozen or that a search warrant was used by law enforcement to seize the assets, you must act quickly. The government has up to 60 days to issue a notice of seizure.
After that, you might have only 35 days to respond by filing a claim for court action. If you miss a deadline, the government might keep the asset without a fight.
Call 813-250-0500.
What are Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)?
NFTs are digital assets. Many of these assets are associated with a piece of digital artwork that contains a unique identifier. This unique identifier does not exist for other forms of digital currencies meant to be interchangeable.
Many NFTs are created on blockchains, including Ethereum or Solana. These blockchains allow consumers to buy or sell NFTs online.
Like other types of digital assets, NFTs are vulnerable to theft during hacks. Promotors using fraudulent schemes, such as insider trading or market manipulation, also pose risks.
NFTs can be bought, sold, or traded using anonymous digital currency wallets and anonymous online accounts at centralized exchanges held by others.
NFTs are not limited to digital artwork. Almost anything can be turned into a NFT, including residential homes and real estate. New blockchains are being developed specifically for real estate transactions.
Read more about the seizure of cryptocurrency for civil asset forfeiture proceedings and seizure of Bitcoin for forfeiture.
This article was last updated on Thursday, September 12, 2024.