Kansas & California Cops Used Civil Forfeiture to Rob Armored Cars, Stealing Money Earned by Licensed Marijuana Businesses

[Democide]

Kansas and California Cops Used Civil Forfeiture to Stage Armored Car Heists, Stealing Money Earned by Licensed Marijuana Businesses
The Institute for Justice argues that the seizures violated state law, federal law, and the U.S. Constitution.

18 January 2022

Because the continued federal prohibition of marijuana makes banks and payment processors leery of serving state-licensed cannabis suppliers, many of those businesses rely heavily on cash, which exposes them to a heightened risk of robbery. As a new federal lawsuit shows, that danger is not limited to garden-variety criminals. It includes cops who use federal civil forfeiture laws to steal money earned by state-legal marijuana businesses. Five times since last May, sheriff's deputies in Kansas and California have stopped armored cars operated by Empyreal Logistics, a Pennsylvania-based company that serves marijuana businesses and financial institutions that work with them. The ...

Kansas and California Cops Used Civil Forfeiture to Stage Armored Car Heists, Stealing Money Earned by Licensed Marijuana Businesses

The Institute for Justice argues that the seizures violated state law, federal law, and the U.S. Constitution.

reason.com

 

[Democide]

Highway Robbery: Armored Car Company Sues Federal Law Enforcement and a California Sheriff After Series of Illegal Roadside Seizures
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies and federal agents partner together to steal more than $1 million from legal cannabis businesses

18 January 2022

Empyreal Logistics, an armored car and fintech company that operates nationwide, sued several federal law enforcement agencies and the San Bernardino County Sheriff after being the victim of roadside seizures which amount to highway robbery. The newly filed federal lawsuit demands law enforcement immediately stop targeting Empyreal for seizures that have no basis under state or federal law and violate Empyreal’s constitutional rights. Empyreal is represented by the Institute for Justice (IJ), a public-interest law firm that defends people from civil forfeiture across the country. “This is nothing but highway robbery using badges,” said IJ Senior Attorney Dan Alban. “Empyreal ...

Highway Robbery: Armored Car Company Sues Federal Law Enforcement and a California Sheriff After Series of Illegal Roadside Seizures - Institute for Justice

RIVERSIDE, Calif.—Empyreal Logistics, an armored car and fintech company that operates nationwide, sued several federal law enforcement agencies and the San Bernardino County Sheriff after […]

ij.org

 

[Democide]

Cops Using Civil Forfeiture to Organize Armored Car Heists, Robbing Innocent People of Over $1 Million

20 January 2022

Several federal law enforcement agencies and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s department are now the subject of a federal lawsuit after they were caught pulling over vehicles from an armored car company and robbing them of their cash. The stops were completely baseless as no crime had been committed and the cash inside the armored cars was from legal businesses — essentially making it literal highway robbery. According to the lawsuit, Empyreal Logistics, an armored car and fintech company that operates nationwide, is demanding a stop to the seizures as they have no basis under state or federal law and ...

Cops Using Civil Forfeiture to Organize Armored Car Heists, Robbing Innocent People of Over $1 Million

“This is nothing but highway robbery using badges”

thefreethoughtproject.com

 

[Democide]

FBI and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department accused of illegally seizing marijuana cash

28 January 2022

The driver of an armored car carrying $712,000 in cash from licensed marijuana dispensaries was heading into Barstow on a Mojave Desert freeway in November when San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies pulled him over. They interrogated him, seized the money and turned it over to the FBI. A few weeks later, deputies stopped the same driver in Rancho Cucamonga, took an additional $350,000 belonging to legal pot stores and gave that cash to the FBI too. Now, the FBI is trying to confiscate the nearly $1.1-million bounty, which it might share with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. The FBI ...

FBI and San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department accused of illegally seizing marijuana cash

An armored car company says the FBI and the San Bernardino County sheriff unlawfully seized cash from state-licensed marijuana businesses.

www.latimes.com

 

[Democide]

A California Sheriff Remains Free To Rob Armored Cars Carrying Money From State-Licensed Marijuana Businesses
A federal judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order, saying the evidence of legal violations is insufficient at this point.

4 February 2022

A federal judge this week declined to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against a California sheriff who used civil forfeiture to rob armored cars carrying money earned by state-licensed marijuana businesses. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge John Holcomb said Empyreal Logistics, a Pennsylvania-based company that transports cash between businesses and banks, "may very well have an excellent case on the merits" but had failed to meet "the high burden" for a TRO. San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies stopped Empyreal vans three times in November, December, and January. They seized cash during two of the stops, making off with ...

A California Sheriff Remains Free To Rob Armored Cars Carrying Money From State-Licensed Marijuana Businesses

A federal judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order, saying the evidence of legal violations is insufficient at this point.

reason.com

 

[Democide]

How California Deputies Became Highway Robbers
San Bernardino County deputies stopped the same armored-car driver twice and took nearly $1.1 million in cash owned by legal marijuana dispensaries.

11 February 2022

An organized group of Southern California bandits has brazenly hijacked armored cars and grabbed hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash. The heavily armed thieves reportedly have damaged trucks, hassled their victims, covered up video cameras—and even celebrated their haul. "Wowee!" and "way to go, buddy," they allegedly cheered, after pulling a recent heist. You'd be forgiven for assuming that this is the latest example of California's ongoing crime wave, epitomized by "third world" scenes of pilfered freight trains and brazen smash-and-grab robberies. But it's nothing of the sort. Actually, it's more pernicious than the usual crime spree because a ...

How California Deputies Became Highway Robbers

San Bernardino County deputies stopped the same armored-car driver twice and took nearly $1.1 million in cash owned by legal marijuana dispensaries.

reason.com

 

[Democide]

California Sheriff, US DOJ Sued For Seizures Of Cash Generated By Legal Pot Businesses

17 February 2022

A lawsuit filed against both California and federal law enforcement agencies claims the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department is exploiting the disagreement between state and federal marijuana laws to stop and seize cash being transported from legal marijuana dispensaries. Marijuana is legal in many forms in multiple states. Unfortunately, the federal government has yet to legalize marijuana in any form, putting purveyors of legal products at risk of being prosecuted by the federal government despite their adherence to local laws. Empyreal -- a cash transport business -- has experienced the SBSD's abuse firsthand on multiple occasions. The driver of an ...

California Sheriff, US DOJ Sued For Seizures Of Cash Generated By Legal Pot Businesses

A lawsuit filed against both California and federal law enforcement agencies claims the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department is exploiting the disagreement between state and federal marijuana laws to stop and seize cash being transported...

www.techdirt.com

 

[Democide]

The Feds Will Return More Than $1 Million in Marijuana Money That California Cops Stole From Armored Cars
Empyreal Logistics agreed to drop its claims against the Justice Department, but it is still suing San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus.

14 April 2022

The federal government has agreed to return more than $1 million that California sheriff's deputies stole from an armored-car company that serves state-licensed marijuana businesses. The partial settlement of a lawsuit that the Institute for Justice filed on behalf of the Pennsylvania-based company, Empyreal Logistics, embodies a notable irony: The Justice Department is returning money earned by businesses that federal law still treats as criminal enterprises, thereby defeating San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus' attempt to evade California law, which does not allow forfeiture of the money that his deputies seized because it came from businesses that the state views ...

The Feds Will Return More Than $1 Million in Marijuana Money That California Cops Stole From Armored Cars

The federal government has agreed to return more than $1 million that California sheriff's deputies stole from an armored-car company...

reason.com

 

[Democide]

DOJ Agrees To Return Cash Seized From Company Transporting Proceeds From Sales Of Legal Weed

21 April 2022

In February, cash transport business Empyreal Logistics sued the DOJ and a California sheriff for the lifting of nearly $1.2 million in cash from its drivers during two traffic stops. Empyreal, which notes that it follows all federal guidance for the transport of cash generated by legal marijuana sales, was hit twice in California, resulting in officers walking away with a whole lot of legal cash (and bringing in the feds to ensure they could take home up to 80% of the take). Other Empyreal drivers were pulled over in Kansas, during which $165,000 was seized by law enforcement and ...

DOJ Agrees To Return Cash Seized From Company Transporting Proceeds From Sales Of Legal Weed

In February, cash transport business Empyreal Logistics sued the DOJ and a California sheriff for the lifting of nearly $1.2 million in cash from its drivers during two traffic stops. Empyreal, whi…

www.techdirt.com

 

[Democide]

Sheriff Agrees To Stop Stealing Cannabis Cash From Armored Cars, Saying His Deputies 'Are Not Highway Robbers'
The settlement came after the Justice Department agreed to return more than $1 million in proceeds from state-licensed marijuana businesses in California.

9 May 2022

Empyreal Logistics, a Pennsylvania-based company that transports cash from state-licensed marijuana businesses, has reached a settlement with the San Bernardino County, California, Sheriff's Department, which had seized more than $1 million from Empyreal's armored cars. The Justice Department, which was holding the money pending federal forfeiture, agreed to return all of it last month. According to a joint statement that Empyreal and the sheriff's department issued on Friday, "both parties understand that each [was] acting in good faith when the stops were conducted and have come to an understanding that will enable both sides to move forward amicably." Empyreal, represented ...

Sheriff Agrees To Stop Stealing Cannabis Cash From Armored Cars, Saying His Deputies 'Are Not Highway Robbers'

The settlement came after the Justice Department agreed to return more than $1 million in proceeds from state-licensed marijuana businesses in California.

reason.com

 

[Democide]

Kansas Seized $21 Million From People Over the Past Two Years. Most Were Never Convicted of a Crime
An Americans for Prosperity Foundation report found that less than a quarter of people who had property seized through asset forfeiture by Kansas police were ever convicted of a crime.

3 June 2022

Law enforcement in Kansas raked in $21 million through civil asset forfeiture over the past two years, according to a report released this week by the Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF). The report, drawing on a new state database, found that Kansas police seized $21.3 million from people in the state between July 2019 and the end of 2021. Of those cases, less than one-quarter of the owners have been convicted of a crime. Under civil asset forfeiture laws, police can seize property suspected of being connected to criminal activity without charging the owner with a crime. Law enforcement groups ...

Kansas Seized $21 Million From People Over the Past Two Years. Most Were Never Convicted of a Crime

An Americans for Prosperity Foundation report found that less than a quarter of people who had property seized through asset forfeiture by Kansas police were ever convicted of a crime.

reason.com

 

[Democide]

Cops Forced to Return Over $1 Million for Organizing Armored Car Heists, Robbing Innocent People

22 May 2022

As we reported earlier this year, several federal law enforcement agencies and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s department became the subject of a federal lawsuit after they were caught pulling over vehicles from an armored car company and robbing them of their cash. The stops were completely baseless as no crime had been committed and the cash inside the armored cars was from legal businesses — essentially making it literal highway robbery. According to the lawsuit, Empyreal Logistics, an armored car and fintech company that operates nationwide, demanded a stop to the seizures as they have no basis under state ...

Cops Forced to Return Over $1 Million for Organizing Armored Car Heists, Robbing Innocent People

The U.S. Department of Justice agreed to return over $1 million to an armored car company after police robbed them using civil asset forfeiture.

thefreethoughtproject.com