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Marion County asset seizure treats cash transfers as crimes

Evan McMahon
| Indianapolis-Star

If you send your packages with FedEx, be careful. The state of Indiana could seize them without a warrant or reasonable suspicion.

According to a lawsuit filed by the Institute for Justice, police seized FedEx packages containing cash and then took the money as part of a civil asset forfeiture.

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Civil asset forfeiture is a procedure in which the police can seize anything suspected of being related to a crime without a warrant or conviction and then keep the loot for themselves.

In this case, it's happening at the second-largest FedEx hub in the country, located at Indianapolis International Airport. Police dogs sniff packages and flag those suspected of containing cash. Then officers remove the tape, rummage through the package, and take the cash for themselves if they find any. Supposedly, police can do this because they associate the cash with a crime, even if no actual crime has been identified.

This is not crime fighting. This is a real crime – a brazen, blatant theft committed by uniformed officers.

Indiana law requires that any assets seized in a civil forfeiture proceeding go directly into the school fund—presumably to reduce moral hazard and the incentive to steal citizens' assets. But little money actually goes into that fund. Instead, police departments keep the money for themselves, and a 2019 Indiana Supreme Court case upheld that decision, allowing police, prosecutors, or private attorneys hired to handle the cases to keep at least 90%.

Incidentally, Indiana is the only state where prosecutors can award asset forfeiture cases to private attorneys, who then receive a share of the proceeds.

In 2023, $6.6 million was stolen from police through asset seizures. Only 5% of that went to school funds, but 30% went to prosecutors and lawyers and 64% to law enforcement.

In this particular case, California jewelers Henry and Minh Cheng made a $42,825 wholesale sale to a retail customer in Virginia, paid for in cash. However, the package containing the cash was routed through Indianapolis, where it was discovered by sniffer dogs and seized by officials. Marion County stole the money.

Marion County District Attorney Ryan Mears has still not found any crime was committed, but has initiated proceedings to forfeit the cash so his agency and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department can keep the money.

The reason for civil asset seizure is often that large amounts of cash are sometimes used to buy drugs. Therefore, anyone carrying or sending cash is automatically There is suspicion that he is involved in drug trafficking and is therefore involved in a criminal offense.

However, people carry and transfer cash for a variety of reasons that would never be related to crime. In this case, it was a legitimate business transaction, for which Cheng has a sales contract as proof.

The Chengs are suing Mears and the state of Indiana to get back the money they are owed. It is not a crime to sell jewelry, and it is not a crime to pay for a purchase with cash — with each bill clearly marked: “This is legal tender for all debts, private and public.”

When assets are involved in confiscation proceedings, the burden of proof often falls on the citizen to recover their money. However, this is extremely difficult because the assets themselves – inanimate objects – are listed as defendants and such cases often tie up the money in lengthy and difficult legal proceedings.

Not only should the Chengs succeed, but the Indiana General Assembly should put an end to the heinous practice of civil asset forfeiture, especially in cases where no conviction is made.

As a powerful organ of the state, the police’s job is to “protect and serve,” not to abuse their office for theft and plunder.

Evan McMahon is chairman of the Libertarian Party of Indiana.

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