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Sammis Law Firm
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CBP’s Supplemental Petition Decision under 19 CFR § 171.62 When U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seizes cash, cryptocurrency, vehicles, or commercial merchandise, property owners often begin by filing an administrative Petition for Relief under 19 CFR Part 171. If CBP denies your original petition or grants unsatisfactory relief […]
Forfeitures Involving Allegations of Bankruptcy Fraud When the government wants to seize property involved in bankruptcy fraud, it often uses the catch-all forfeiture provision in 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) which authorizes the forfeiture of the proceeds of criminal bankruptcy fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 152. The most common scenario arises when a person files […]
Civil asset forfeiture has long been one of the most controversial mechanisms in American law enforcement. Rooted in medieval maritime law, the practice allows the government to seize property—such as cash, vehicles, real estate, or valuables—suspected of being connected to criminal activity. Under civil forfeiture, the legal action is taken against the property itself (in […]
To understand this problem with government overreach when seizing cryptocurrency, let’s look at a recent case decided on March 3, 2026, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. Studying a specific case is often the best way to learn more about civil asset forfeiture cases involving cryptocurrency. In United […]
What happens if Tether tells you that your USDT is blacklisted or frozen at the request of a federal law enforcement agency in the United States? In other cases, cryptocurrency might be frozen at an exchange like MEXC, Binance, or Coinbase, because the exchange was served with a seizure warrant issued by a law enforcement […]
Seizure of Frozen Crypto Wallets on Circle Circle is a global financial technology company that issues USD Coin (USDC). USDC is a regulated stablecoin. Circle helps businesses manage digital currencies for payments, commerce, and other financial applications by serving as a financial platform built on cryptocurrency and public blockchains. As a centralized issuer of USDC, Circle […]
BTC-e Account Holders in the Cryptocurrency Forfeiture Case On June 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a sweeping civil asset forfeiture complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking to forfeit hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency and fiat funds connected to the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange. The case […]
What happens if local law enforcement agencies in Florida seize cryptocurrency from foreign nationals and overseas companies, despite not having legal authority to do so? Leslie Sammis, an attorney with Sammis Law Firm, recently resolved one such case. As a result of her efforts, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office was forced to return everything it […]
Seizures of Tron Wallets for Forfeiture One crypto network growing quickly is Tron, known for its faster transaction times, low fees, and stability. Tron is registered in the British Virgin Islands. The most dominant cryptocurrency on the Tron network is Tether, the third-largest cryptocurrency token. As the largest stablecoin, Tether strives for a 1:1 peg […]
Seizures of Cryptocurrency by FBI for Forfeiture Various units at the FBI are freezing and then seizing cryptocurrencies for a wide range of crimes, including crypto-investment fraudulent schemes such as money laundering. Those units include FBI’s Virtual Assets Unit. The goal of these seizures is to financially strangle illicit networks. Unfortunately, innocent cryptocurrency owners are […]
