Preventing Asset Forfeiture and Regaining Assets Lost to Law Enforcement

Federal and state law allows law enforcement officers to seize cash or assets that they believe may have been gained through illegal means or that they believe may have been used to commit a crime.

Asset forfeiture is most common in drug crimes cases, with law enforcement regularly seizing cars, cash, boats, jewelry and other property they say was purchased with "drug money." But the police can also seize assets in white-collar crimes such as fraud or money laundering. Forfeiture actions can also come from illegally structuring deposits of cash into a bank account.

The police do not have a burden of proof that the assets they seized actually were purchased with money from illegal activities. Unlike criminal charges, in asset forfeiture cases the final burden of proof is on the person who wants to regain their property.

If your property has been confiscated by the police or federal authorities, contact a criminal defense lawyer at the Orlando, Florida Law Offices of Mark L. Horwitz. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day. Call us at (866) 784-0023.

Helping Innocent People Regain their Property

Asset forfeiture is not only difficult for the person who has been charged with a crime, it is also difficult for family members who may have had no connection with any wrongdoing that may or may not have occurred.

Loss of a car or, worse yet, a home, will have harmful effects on the lives of spouses, girlfriends or boyfriends, and children. The loss of cash or property from a business can put that business in jeopardy. In fact, police have been known to seize cash from cars simply because there was a large amount of cash in the car. They make an assumption that it is from wrongdoing.

At the Law Offices of Mark L. Horwitz, our defense attorneys vigorously challenge unjust search and seizure. We work on behalf of innocent spouses and parents whose property was seized by the police, bringing a case for hardship or ownership.

If your property was seized by the police, call us at (866) 784-0023. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, ensuring a defense attorney responds quickly. Or, contact our Orlando law office online.