For a Fistful of Dollars

05/09/23 • 25 min

Imagine stashing your hard-earned savings in a safety deposit box, only to find out the FBI has raided the place and your money is gone thanks to the controversial practice of civil forfeiture, which allows law enforcement to seize people's assets with little explanation. That's what happened to a number of Californians who stored their cash at U.S. Private Vaults in Beverly Hills.

Join us for this season's sixth episode as we tell their story and explore how their money got caught up in a vault at the center of a federal investigation.

The story doesn't stop there. We also hear from trucker Jerry Johnson, who also experienced civil forfeiture firsthand when his $39,500 in cash was seized by the Phoenix Police Department after he flew into the city to buy a big rig. It took years and help from the Institute for Justice to get his money back.
Special guests:

Linda Martin
Benjamin Gluck, an attorney with Bird Marella
Steve Welk, a former assistant U.S. attorney
Jeni Pearsons
Dan Alban, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice
Jerry Johnson
Bob Belden, an attorney at the Institute for Justice

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.
Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

05/09/23 • 25 min

Sidebar by Courthouse News - For a Fistful of Dollars

Transcript

(Sound of vault opening)

Hillel Aron: Like many Americans, Linda Martin and her husband Reggie were saving up to buy a house. And they were able to save a lot of money – $40,000. And for a while, they just kept it around in cash. They wanted to put their money somewhere, but they didn’t want it in a bank. Linda says she didn’t want to be tempted to spend it.

Linda Martin: I didn't want the money in my hands or anywhere near my hands. Accessible in my, you know, just, I didn'

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