A 64-year-old put his life savings in his carry-on. U.S. Customs took it without charging him with a

[Demovictory9]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/05/31/a-64-year-old-put-his-life-savings-in-his-carry-on-u-s-customs-took-it-without-charging-him-with-a-crime/?utm_term=.698e24558bd5



A 64-year-old Cleveland man is suing U.S. Customs and Border Protection after agents strip-searched him at an airport in October and took more than $58,000 in cash from him without charging him with any crime, according to a federal lawsuit filed this week in Ohio.

Customs agents seized the money through a process known as civil asset forfeiture, a law enforcement technique that allows authorities to take cash and property from people who are never convicted or even charged with a crime. The practice is widespread at the federal level. In 2017, federal authorities seized more than $2 billion in assets from people, a net loss similar in size to annual losses from residential burglaries in the United States.

Customs says it suspects that the petitioner in the case, Rustem Kazazi, was involved in smuggling, drug trafficking or money laundering. Kazazi denies those allegations and says that the agency is violating federal law by keeping his money without filing any formal complaint against him.




Under federal forfeiture law, the government was required to initiate a forfeiture case within 90 days after the Kazazis responded to the seizure notice. If it failed to initiate a forfeiture case within that window, it would be required to promptly return the money to the claimants.

That deadline passed over a month ago, on April 17. CBP has not filed a forfeiture complaint; nor has it returned the money. Erald Kazazi said he has called CBP several times was told that the case was now with the U.S. attorney's office in Ohio and that CBP had no additional information on it. So this week, the Kazazis filed their lawsuit, demanding the immediate return of their property.

[tazkcmo]

1. Not blaming the victim

But I am curious as to why he was carrying his life savings around in cash? Yes, it's his money and if he wanted to take a cash bath then more power to him.

Civil forfeiture has got to go.

[pnwmom]

15. Because he was taking it to a country where he didn't trust the banks, and where

the U.S. dollar was trusted. It was his home country and he planned to buy some property there.

[treestar]

21. As his asset advisor

Property in that country would not be secure. I’d they took it from him there he might not have recourse to get it back

[pnwmom]

22. How come people are focused on tangential issues and not the biggest question:

how come the US hasn't met the 90 day deadline to either charge him with something or return all his money?

[treestar]

83. File in court

Then they will do it. That is how they "obey" their own deadlines.

They have some limited time to respond to a FOIA request too. They do it when they get to it, unless the requestor takes them to court.

[Blue_true]

28. International wire transfer.

There were a number of ways that he could have paid for the property. Why wouldn't someone guess that he was bringing cash and rob him as soon as he left the airport?

[pnwmom]

29. But the point is that the govt. had a 90 day limit to either charge him

or to return all his money.

INSTEAD, they've been sitting on it. (But they've offered him to chance to get it back if they let them deduct a cut.)

How is this anything but outrageous?

[Blue_true]

31. I am not debating the outrageousness of what happened to him.

Government agents can be capricious, one overlooks something and tell you to be careful and go your way, while another arrests you and make a big issue.

You mentioned that he may not trust banks in his country. I have been to third world countries that still have international bank branches in the larger cities. If he can't trust the banks, how can he trust property sellers there? Why wouldn't they just take him out somewhere and rob him.

[pnwmom]

39. I don't know the answers but it's kind of beside the point why he chose to do what he did.

The law said that he needed to declare the money as he left the country, so he was planning to do that in NY before he left the country. And the law says the feds should have returned the money to him, but they haven't.

I think we should ALL be concerned about how agencies are using forfeiture laws to steal assets from innocent people -- without the presumption of innocence and without due process.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Okay, kind of stupid. If you've ever gone through customs, you would

know that $10,000 is the max you can take out or bring into a country.

[stevenleser]

5. Yep, they hand you a form, its right there on the form. He obviously didn't check the box. nt

[SFnomad]

7. He was leaving the country and wasn't at this point of US departure yet

He shouldn't have had to declare it until he reached his international flight. You don't have to declare money you're carrying within the United States.

From the way I've read it, he was going through normal domestic security, they saw the money and notified Customs and Border Protection.

[onenote]

9. Correct.

[stevenleser]

14. See my #13 nt

[onenote]

6. That is not true.

There is no limit under US law on how much money you can carry into or out of the United States. However, if you are carrying more than $10,000 in cash, you have to declare it on your customs form and fill out an additional form (FinCen Form 105). Those forms have to be filled out when you are leaving/arriving, not when you are getting on a domestic flight, which is what he was doing. He couldn't "check the box" because there was no form that he had to fill out at that point.

[pnwmom]

16. It wasn't stupid. He read the instructions and he was planning to declare it in the 4 hour stop

in New York -- from which he would be exiting the country.

[Blue_Tires]

24. +1

[DFW]

33. Well, actually, no. Read the rules again.

$10,000 is the max you can take in or out of the country WITHOUT DECLARING IT.

If you declare it to a customs official, he will give you a form to fill out, verify the amount you declare, and then you can go anywhere your heart desires with as much as you have declared. Depending on local laws at your destination, you may have to go through the same circus when you arrive. If it's some place like Switzerland or Germany, you have nothing to worry about. I'm not sure I'd want some Albanian customs official, who probably makes $675 a month, to know I had that much on me, and if he asked where I was staying, I'd turn around and get on the next plane outta there.

The EU has a €10,000 limit (around $12,000), but same rules--any amount is legal as long as it is declared, the owner's ID is given, and where it's headed.

The only mistake this guy made was not seeking out a Customs official before trying to leave the country. If he had flagged one down, or requested one at check-in, and made his declaration, and the amount he was carrying jived with the declaration, they would have had to let him go anywhere he pleased with his cash.

UNDECLARED cash over $10,000 is a violation. DECLARED cash over $10,000 is a formality.

[cvoogt]

78. Umm, no. He made no mistake

He was boarding a domestic flight, and did not yet need to declare anything. There simply is nothing to declare if you're connecting between two domestic airports; customs forms don't enter the equation until you are about to leave or enter the country.

[DFW]

80. You're quite right. I hadn't even read that part yet. Seizing money on a domestic flight is robbery.

Whoever ordered the "sequestration" is guilty of outright theft, whether or not that is what he had in mind.
There is no legal basis whatsoever for taking the money from a private citizen on a domestic flight.

[cvoogt]

81. Didn't mean to come off snarky by the way

Just wanting people to realize how egregious civil forfeiture is! It is unconstitutional and the only reason I think it's not in the MSM is Trump sucks up all the oxygen all the time.

[DFW]

82. You didn't, and you were right to point that out

This was a case of some uniform using his or her position to be aggressive, and they crossed the line into illegality when they took this man's money. No matter how weird it may be these days to run around with $58,000 in cash, the fact is that if it's your money and you choose to do so, you have every right to run around with it. No uniform has the right to seize it just because he feels like it. By the way, this has happened in Belgium and France as well, but in France the owners got their money back relatively quickly once legal ownership was established. In Belgium, I know of cases where corrupt cops have kept money for over five years in the hope that the owner would either die or give them a cut in return for them forgetting the whole thing (I know of at least one instance of each). We don't have a monopoly on this kind of thing.

[cvoogt]

84. didn't know about those FR/BE cases

but it's not entirely surprising

[cwydro]

3. I suspect more to this story.

Who carries that kind of cash?

[DFW]

34. Anyone going to a country where you can't trust anyone, including a bank.

There are LOTS of places like that.

When Cyprus decided they'd plug their budget deficit by arbitrarily confiscating 10% of all bank accounts over €100,000, you had better believe that a LOT of Cypriots acquired a healthy respect for cash. I wouldn't take a check drawn on an Albanian bank for €5.

[stevenleser]

4. He traveled internationally. He had to know he was doing something wrong and I will tell you why.

When you fill out customs declarations to enter the US, it specifically asks you if you are carrying in excess of $10,000. See question 13 here: https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/sample-declaration-form



This person did not check that box.

In most other countries a similar question is asked. In fact Albania has a requirement that anything above $5000 needs to be declared. I am guessing this person violated Albanian law as well http://www.albaniainside.com/en/visa-customs/tamozhennye-pravila.html

[onenote]

8. You're wrong. He didn't check any box because he didn't have to fill out a customs declaration

He was stopped and the money was taken from him in Cleveland before he departed on a flight to Newark. He wasn't required to fill out a form until he was departing Newark on an international flight.

You can carry any amount you want on domestic flights and there are no forms to fill out.

[cwydro]

10. He was still incredibly stupid.

Unbelievable.

[onenote]

11. Being stupied isn't a crime.

What he did was ill-advised, but not illegal.

[liberalhistorian]

18. It doesn't matter how "stupid" he is, that still doesn't give

the government the right to take his money without charging him with anything, and to just assume he's guilty of something because he has a large amount and they want it. That is what fascist authoritarian countries do. Civil forfeiture seizure laws are bullshit 95 percent of the time, and this is one of them.

Stupidity is NOT a crime.

[USALiberal]

43. FFS, you are missing the point of the government stealing his money with no due process! Jesus! nt

[stevenleser]

69. Civil forfeiture is a law and so it is considered due process. You won't win an appeal saying you

were denied due process.

https://www.justice.gov/afp/types-federal-forfeiture

TYPES OF FEDERAL FORFEITURE
.
.
.

Administrative forfeiture is an in rem action that permits the federal seizing agency to forfeit the property without judicial involvement. The authority for a seizing agency to start an administrative forfeiture action is found in the Tariff Act of 1930, 19 U.S.C. § 1607. Property that can be administratively forfeited is: merchandise the importation of which is prohibited; a conveyance used to import, transport, or store a controlled substance; a monetary instrument; or other property that does not exceed $500,000 in value.

Source: A Guide to Equitable Sharing of Federally Forfeited Property for State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, U.S. Department of Justice, March 1994.

[stevenleser]

13. Upon further review, yes, but don't forget, this wasnt his first international trip. He emigrated

to the US.

He has filled out one of these before. Probably several times.

[pnwmom]

19. So what? He was planning to fill it out, in the N.Y. airport, before he boarded the international

flight.

Having flown in the past wouldn't have told him that that wouldn't work unless he had tried to take more than $10K in the past.

[stevenleser]

63. The "So What" is that he knew traveling with over $10K is an issue. This isn't hard...

... unless you have been living under a rock, you know that nowadays there are issues with trafficking in that much cash even outside of travel.

Various US agencies are always on the lookout for people doing that because they are looking for people laundering money.

[pnwmom]

65. No, he didn't. Flying within the US you don't have to declare cash. He was flying within the US.

He was planning to declare it in NY -- before he left the US from NY.

The US is breaking the law now by failing to either charge him with something in 90 days or returning all his money.

Instead, they want their cut; they want to "compromise" by getting him to agree to giving them part of the money. Just because they can.

[stevenleser]

67. Law enforcement can always ask you. Even if you are pulled over in your car and have a lot of cash.

People need to know this.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/11/civil-asset-forfeiture-cash-money_n_6623972.html

https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/if-i-am-pulled-over-speeding-and-have-a-large-amount-

I'm really surprised people here don't know this.

[pnwmom]

73. WE KNOW IT. We are objecting to it. This is a terrible law,

because it allows police to steal money from innocent people, who are not given the presumption of innocence.

[onenote]

26. First of all, unless he has travelled with large sums before, he wouldn't have filled out FinCen 105

Second, you aren't given Customs declaration forms on domestic flights. I've flown many international flights where I took a domestic flight and then connected to my international flight. I have never, ever, been offered a customs form on a flight from my home airport to another domestic airport.

Again, he didn't do anything wrong not filling out a form he almost certainly didn't have yet and certainly had no one to give it to yet.

[stevenleser]

64. First of all, if he has traveled internationally he has seen that "Are you traveling with over $10K

on the form before.

Second, unless you have been living under a rock, you know that there are many issues these days with handling cash in excess of $10K even outside of travel. It tends to catch the attention of various federal agencies who are always on the lookout for money laundering.

These days, if you don't take that into account, you are doing something wrong.

[onenote]

71. He broke no rules. He did nothing "wrong" in any legal sense.

[DFW]

38. Correct, plus, the form shown was for ENTRY into the USA, not departure

That form is obsolete, anyway. It has been replaced by an electronic declaration at entry. And if you read the other side, it even explains explicitly that ANY amount is legal to carry. It just has to be declared at the point of departure from the USA or the first point of entry. Just ask for a 4790 and fill it out. Know your social security number, because they'll ask for it.

If this money was confiscated, with no cause to suspect he was not the rightful owner, at any point during a domestic journey by an official with a weapon, it is armed robbery.

[onenote]

45. FYI form 4790 has been replaced by FinCen form 105

But otherwise the info in your post is correct.

[VMA131Marine]

12. That's the form to fill out when you are entering the US

There is no form to fill out when leaving and nobody even checks your passport other than the airline to make sure that you can get into the country you are flying to. I've flown out of the country on numerous occasions and never once had to interact with US customs before I left.

[onenote]

36. Wrong. FinCen 105 must be filed by anyone entering or leaving the USA with more than $10k

It is correct that you only file customs form 4059B (the one with the boxes) when you enter the USA. But if you are carrying more than $10k you have to file the FinCen 105 when you enter or leave the USA. But if you’re leaving you only file it at your. point of departure from the USA. Cleveland was not his initial of departure from the USA so he did nothing wrong.

[DFW]

40. The form is there, but you have to request it when leaving.

You are correct that one is almost never asked about the amount of currency they are carrying when they leave the USA, but it CAN happen. Customs sometimes stations between one to three agents (sometimes in civilian clothes) on jetways at the entrance to planes flying nonstop to destinations abroad. If you're carrying cash over $10,000, you would be wise to have filled out a 4790 before getting on the plane, just in case.

[pnwmom]

17. He wasn't entering the U.S. He was going to declare the money when he LEFT the US

in New York. He thought, based on his reading, that that's where he was supposed to report it.

[Blue_true]

27. With debit cards, a person can withdraw money everyday,

plus international hotels generally accept the cards for direct payment. I have no idea why he was carrying that much cash.

[Mariana]

30. It really doesn't matter why he was carrying that much cash.

There's no evidence he broke any law in doing so. However, there is evidence the CPB is breaking the law. That is what is important here.

[Blue_true]

32. When people put themselves in a grey zone, bad stuff can happen.

I am not trying to say what is happening to him isn't wrong, but it certainly was preventable.

[USALiberal]

51. FFS, it is like saying EVERY police beating was preventable. nt

[Blue_true]

54. No, not remotely close.

Why use an outrageous analogy that does not apply. Being a POC should never cause extra scrutiny for a law abiding person, carrying around $53,000 will set off alarms, regardless of a person's race.

[USALiberal]

59. You seem to be missing the due process part. nt

[ret5hd]

55. What's grey about the zone in this instance?

Did this man do anything remotely illegal?

[Blue_true]

58. Carrying around that much money draws scrutiny, even when one is legit.

I did it once traveling domestically. I got asked questions until the questioners determined that my reasons were legit. I have no idea what would have happened if I tried to leave the country with that amount.

[ret5hd]

61. I bet it was how he was dressed.

Just askin' for it, ya' know.

[Mariana]

75. The story here isn't really that he drew scrutiny.

It isn't even that his money was confiscated. The problem here is that the CBP violated the law. They're supposed to file a complaint within a certain period of time or give the money back. They've done neither. There is nothing that this man did that makes it OK for the CPB to break the law.

[stevenleser]

66. It actually does matter why he was carrying that much cash and law enforcement is empowered to ask

to ensure that it doesn't have nefarious origins.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/11/civil-asset-forfeiture-cash-money_n_6623972.html

https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/if-i-am-pulled-over-speeding-and-have-a-large-amount-

I'm really surprised people here don't know this.

[Mariana]

70. Absolutely they can ask.

They can even confiscate it - but the law says they're supposed to do certain things when they confiscate cash, or they have to give it back. This story says they didn't do those things. No matter what reason the man may have had for carrying the cash, it's not OK for the CPB to break the law.

[octoberlib]

35. According to the article, Albanians prefer US cash because it has more worth than local currency

“The crime [in Albania] is much worse than it is here,” he said. “Other people that have made large withdrawals [from Albanian banks] have had people intercept them and take their money. The exchange rates and fees are [also] excessive.”


Albanian contractors often prefer dollars and euros over the local currency, Kazazi said. For those reasons, he said, many expatriates who return to visit Albania bring large amounts of cash with them.

[mainer]

37. Has anyone flying from US city to US city ever had to fill out this form?

No. There is no law against bringing large amounts of cash from Cleveland to Newark.


CBP only wants to know if you’re traveling abroad with it, and he hadn’t even reached his international point of departure. This man did not break any laws.

[DFW]

41. Again, correct

The declaration should be made at the point of departure, not on or before a domestic flight. Whatever the wisdom of traveling with that kind of cash, there is no law against it within the USA, and no legal basis for confiscating it from someone who is not under suspicion of having acquired it legally.

[USALiberal]

44. Wrong and self delete! nt

[stevenleser]

68. No. nt

[pnwmom]

20. Why are some people here determined to blame the victim

when it is clear that the U.S. is violating its own law? They were supposed to charge him in 90 days or return his money. Neither one has happened.

[USALiberal]

48. Because they are clueless. nt

[Exotica]

56. Lack of knowledge due to negative externalities inputting non-American variables into a sequence of

events. Also the continuous reinforcement of socio-economic memes/norms that cash is usually the domain of the nefarious and the criminal.

[Mariana]

72. They don't want to think it can happen to them.

But it can. Much smaller amounts of cash are confiscated all the time. People's cars and other valuables get taken. The contents of bank accounts can be seized. Etc. All without the victims being charged with any crime. But people feel more comfortable if they can say, "I'm not so stupid as to carry that much cash anywhere, so it will never happen to me."

[Demovictory9]

74. thank you

[TheFrenchRazor]

79. unfortunately, a lot of so-called progressives can't wait to love Big Brother. nt

[miyazaki]

85. Rolf. And many already are in so many ways.

Some without realizing it.

[suffragette]

23. And the shredding of the 4th amendment continues

[Lee-Lee]

25. There are some circumstances where civil assets forfeiture is a great tool

It is especially useful in cases involving human trafficking and forced sex slavery to attack the proceeds of the crime and discourage the organizers. Because in those cases you know it’s dirty money, but it’s one of the hardest crimes to prosecute if the players don’t keep records you can seize. So you seize the proceeds you know are dirty and they can get them back if they show the court they were legitimately obtained.

However when I see more and more stories like this where it’s abused or wrongfully applied on parties who are clearly not criminals I have to say I think it just needs to go away. The government can’t be trusted to use it correctly no matter how good a tool it is.

[USALiberal]

46. Would you agree some states seem to use it to make money? nt

[Lee-Lee]

49. Oh without a doubt

Louisiana used to be horrible at that before they reformed the laws.

I think if it ever is to remain used that the proceeds should never go to any agency involved- not the police, not the county, etc. Set up a special fund so money goes to the schools or to drug treatment programs or anything like that.

I’ve always said the same about money from tickets and court fines. The way it is here in NC a police department, the city and the county don’t get a cent from a ticket or citation or fine. It all goes to the state treasury in the general fund.

Taking money, in the case of forfeited funds or fines or court costs, should always only be about the effect on the violators of the law as a deterrent or penalty and never about who is getting the money and what they want it for. Making sure they don’t get the money means any profit motive or improper motive in assessing a fine or ticket is eliminated.

That’s one of the underlying reasons for much of the divide in places like Ferguson MO- there they had a municipal court and the city got the $$$$ from tickets and fines and that encouraged the wrong motives for priority in policing.

[USALiberal]

50. You always provide good information!! Thanks for your posts! nt

[FakeNoose]

47. Here's what he should have done

Pack up his car with all his luggage and cash. Drive to Niagara Falls, cross over into Canada where he would still have to go through the standard vehicle inspection. Proceed to the Toronto airport and fly to wherever he wants from Canada. He still needs to have his luggage inspected, show his passport or green card, etc. and go through TSA checks that get done in Canada. But the big difference is, the Canadian TSA wouldn't confiscate his money or prevent him from traveling.

Just sayin'

[Downtown Hound]

52. There very well may be more to this story

But the bottom line is this: if they can't prove he committed a crime, then they should not take his money and they need to return it to him. End of story.

[saidsimplesimon]

53. It's OK for those

who transfer funds to the Cayman Islands, London or Zurich, but not OK for a US citizen? I am not sure, but, I seem to remember that there is a legal limit on the amount of cash that can be taken via commercial US airlines on international flights?

[ret5hd]

62. No, there is no limit.

[saidsimplesimon]

86. Technically correct

I remember being asked to declare any cash above $5,000 on a flight to London, some years ago, could have been $10,000. I never carry more than $500 US or foreign cash equivalent.

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/travel-airline-cash-9937.html

Lisa Maloney, Leaf Group ; Updated March 15, 2018

Most experts recommend keeping a only a modest stash of emergency cash on your person when you travel. But if you're flying to a destination like Cuba where American ATM and credit cards simply won't work, you might not have any choice but to carry cash.

Limits on Carrying Cash
Although there's technically no legal limit on how much money you can carry on a plane, if you're traveling internationally you must declare amounts of more than $10,000 on your customs form, fill out form FinCEN 105, and be prepared for possible interviews with law enforcement to explain the amount of money you're carrying.
...snip

[NCTraveler]

57. The regulations with respect to civil asset forfeiture needs to change.

There is more to this story.

It’s foolish they didn’t claim what they had.

It’s still my understanding that assets can be taken under even less questionable circumstances.

[pnwmom]

60. They weren't at the Port of exit -- NY. That's where they were going to file the claim.

That's how the forms read -- that they're supposed to be filed there.

[pbmus]

76. Lots of ways to carry $58,000 without it being in currency...

Just google it...

[Historic NY]

77. A family member won a cash prize of 25k and was going to take it home...

to Florida on the plane. I made her take a smaller amount and eventually deposited the rest in intervals at a bank branch her mother used. She couldn't understand, even if she hid it on her person it could be taken as she had no proof how it was obtained.