Legalized stealing at the airport

[Nevilledog]

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Jody Barr
@JodyBarr
Here’s something I’ve never seen before & can’t find anywhere: a fed agent seized $115K from a man @RDUAirport. The agent says he’s going to launch a fed investigation of money laundering & drug activity.

Then offers the man a way out: surrender his cash & no investigation:


6:52 PM · Sep 22, 2021

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https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1440856486280785922.html

Here’s something I’ve never seen before & can’t find anywhere: a fed agent seized $115K from a man @RDUAirport. The agent says he’s going to launch a fed investigation of money laundering & drug activity.

Then offers the man a way out: surrender his cash & no investigation:

That man’s name is Ramon Lyon. He says he was flying to Cali to buy gaming machines for his gaming biz in Raleigh.

He packed his $115K in his luggage & showed up for his flight. He ended up in an interrogation room…
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Lyon arrived @RDUAirport & gave his bag to @TSA to be scanned. He says he absolutely knew TSA would see the cash, but said he also knew there is no law limiting the amount of cash one can fly with in the U.S.

That’s Lyon watching a TSA officer take custody of his red carry-on.
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Lyon ended up being interrogated by a citizen cop who is cross sworn as a Task Force Officer for the feds. The officer typically wouldn’t have the authority to seize money, but can when he’s working as a fed.
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The TFO questions Lyon about his money, trip, etc. He then tells Lyon he believes some of his story, but is seizing his money anyway under Civil Asset Forfeiture.

The officer has the authority—w/no other articulated evidence—to seize the cash on site based on his assumptions.
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The @RDUAirport seizure affidavit included statements from an officer who wasn’t on scene to establish probable cause to take Lyon’s cash.

Feds say he lied about details & cited his criminal record as elements to support the seizure. Lyon’s last conviction: Jan 2011.
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Lyon hired William Pruden, a Raleigh asset forfeiture attorney to fight the government for his money.

15 months later, the feds have never charged Lyon but still have his $115K.
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Cody James had $27,600 seized from him at Charlotte-Douglas Intl Airport in July. He called us after it happened.

A @CMPD officer acting as a fed agent seized his money after the @TSA spotted the cash in James’ backpack. The TSA didn’t mention it, but called the feds instead.
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James said the @CMPD officer working as a TFO for @DHSgov didn’t say why they were taking his cash.

@CMPD wouldn’t interview with us to find out why, instead referred us to DHS who also wouldn’t interview.

James left with this form, which doesn’t include a dollar total.
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James sent us a copy of this letter he got a few weeks after we interviewed him. @DHSgov said an ICE agent seized his money & the money was “Traceable to Controlled Substances.”

DHS didn’t say how it knew that. Also notable, he was snagged only by going into an airport.
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Again, flying with cash within US borders is absolutely legal. You do not have to tell the govt about the cash.

But @TSA is still flagging people & causing billions of dollars to be seized in American airports. The TSA’s own rule book says it’s legal, but TSA is the watchdog.
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@mentions
spokesman couldn’t tell me exactly what the threshold is that causes his agency to call the feds when they see cash. Says TSA’s job is to keep “dangerous items” off aircraft.

Says when TSA sees something “suspicious” they alert law enforcement.
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@mentions
with is suing , DEA & US govt over this. Alban says the TSA & feds have a “See cash, seize cash” policy & are taking cash from innocent people.

The IJ class action lawsuit is active & pending & could end these seizures by forcing the govt to prove allegations.
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@mentions
filed legislation in Congress (FAIR Act) that could end these seizures. The bill’s stuck in committee since April.

We tried to interview Walberg for this investigation, but his staff wouldn’t schedule it.
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Another interesting thing about these seizures, most all stay in the civil court. Means the feds don’t have to prove their allegation as they would in a civil court.

The @USAttorneys file “in rem” proceedings. This is where they accuse the money of being illegal.
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The govt has to only show through a preponderance of the evidence that the money was gotten through illegal means.

The person it was seized from has to prove it wasn’t.
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Check out our complete Cash Grab investigation @FOX46News. If you’ve had your cash seized or know someone who has, call/email me:

Cell: 512-269-1557
Email: [e-mail]

FULL REPORT:

Government seizes billions in cash from air travelers without ever filing a criminal charge
“Federal law enforcement agencies are tasked with finding and punishing criminals. But these findings suggest DHS airport currency seizure and forfeiture practices put innocent Americans at risk,” …
https://www.fox46.com/news/investigations/government-seizes-billions-in-cash-from-air-travelers-without-ever-filing-a-criminal-charge/

One last point on the @RDUAirport seizure. Here’s the evidence the govt presented to take the man’s $115K.

Also, instead of proving he was carrying dirty money w/an inv, the feds would’ve ignored any criminal activity if he gave them the money. The proof is right here on video:
• • •

[Sanity Claws]

1. Was he an international traveler who needed to disclose to customs money over $10K?

[Nevilledog]

2. Nope.

[LiberatedUSA]

3. There are areas in the country...

…known for this. Pulling drivers over. Doesn’t matter what you are or are not doing. If they find cash on you, they’ll pull this stunt. I distinctly remember they wanted to even be allowed to drain accounts by having coerced access to ATM cards.

[cojoel]

4. When I was first heading out to college

My mother told me to never carry a large amount of cash, and that way nobody could steal very much. She never mentioned that the Government might be the thief.

[PTWB]

5. The government is absolutely wrong to be seizing this cash.

That said, traveling with that much cash is just dumb. Legal, but dumb. Don’t do it people.

[localroger]

6. Called civil asset forfeiture and it's been happening since the 1990's

Not just at the airport but by any police agency. They seize your property and accuse it (not you, this is important) of being either involved with or the product of criminal activity. You have a very short span of time to file an appeal which the cops don't have to tell you about, and challenging the forfeiture is both expensive and uncertain; if the amount is less than $20K or so most lawyers will advise you to walk away and don't carry so much cash in the future. This has been taken to the supreme court and upheld on the basis that the case is "U.S. Government vs. $115,000 cash", and cash (or property) is not a human and has no civil rights. Stop laughing, no that's really the justification. They've been doing this left and right since the 1990's and everybody is shocked to learn about it and nobody seems to be able to do anything about it.