NN: "FBI to Return or Compensate Owners of Illegally Seized Coins, Money, Other Assets"
Goldbully
Posts: 17,343 ✭✭✭✭✭
This story sickens me.............and I never say that.
FBI to Return or Compensate Owners of Illegally Seized Coins, Money, Other Assets
The FBI initially claimed that it did not need to return the seized assets because of government immunity from responsibility. An appellate court disagreed.
Patrick A. Heller 13 hours ago
Here’s a follow-up to my column last December about ensuring the integrity of your safe deposit box contents. In the column, I mentioned that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had seized the contents of hundreds of boxes belonging to customers who were not under investigation as part of a raid on a private safe deposit box company.
Initially, the FBI claimed they did not need to return the seized assets under government immunity from responsibility. Don Mellein had 110 1-ounce gold coins plus some cash stored in his box and filed a lawsuit for the return of these assets. After an appellate court ruled in January 2024 that the entire raid violated the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the FBI returned 47 coins to Mellein and claimed that it did not have the rest of his assets.
It turned out that, as the FBI was opening and seizing the assets, it initially created careful records of what was removed from each box. However, partway through the process, the FBI agents stopped preparing detailed records to speed up their work.
..............see link for rest of article.
Comments
You can only laugh at the insanity of it all……
BHNC #248 … 130 and counting.
Incredulous at the original posture the FBI took - pure hubris!
“The thrill of the hunt never gets old”
PCGS Registry: Screaming Eagles
Copperindian
Retired sets: Soaring Eagles
Copperindian
I stopped trusting the government when I got a no seat belt ticket from a guy on a motorcycle.
The cloak of authority and power can cause normal people to do some crazy s--t!
BST: endeavor1967, synchr, kliao, Outhaul, Donttellthewife, U1Chicago, ajaan, mCarney1173, SurfinHi, MWallace, Sandman70gt, mustanggt, Pittstate03, Lazybones, Walkerguy21D, coinandcurrency242 , thebigeng, Collectorcoins, JimTyler, USMarine6, Elkevvo, Coll3ctor, Yorkshireman, CUKevin, ranshdow, CoinHunter4, bennybravo, Centsearcher, braddick, Windycity, ZoidMeister, mirabela, JJM, RichURich, Bullsitter, jmski52, LukeMarshall, coinsarefun, MichaelDixon, NickPatton, ProfLiz, Twobitcollector,Jesbroken oih82w8, DCW
You do mean CRY, right?
A: The year they spend more on their library than their coin collection.
A numismatist is judged more on the content of their library than the content of their cabinet.
post this on pm forum
Mattress has once again become the better option.
Might want to check into your “private vault company” if you decide not to use a SDB at an established bank. The vault company in question pled guilty to money laundering and recruiting drug traffickers as customers.
Glad the court is helping out the innocent people who decided to use a private vault company. But I shed no tears for the vault company or the criminals using it.
"Look up, old boy, and see what you get." -William Bonney.
The US Government enforcement agencies are a mafia. Act accordingly.
I loaned a brick and mortar coin store one of my new $50 proof AGE’s back in 1986/87. I was one of the first individuals to get one in the area and the owner asked if he could put it on display. Of course I said yes as I had done a lot of business with him and his wife while I was based there with the military. Imagine my surprise when I stopped by one day to check things out and found the store had been closed over night and the bank had taken possession of EVERYTHING in the store! I called the owner and he said he was not allowed to speak to anyone due to unforeseen events and the bank said my coin was now theirs and I had NO recourse to get the coin back. I will NEVER loan a coin out again!
My mind immediately drifted to the 1969-s doubled die cents. The secret service wrongly confiscated and destroyed legitimate coins under the premise that they were counterfeit.
Will those people be compensated? Maybe if they have student loans! 😆
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
I've looked into using private SDB companies, both in and out of the US.
The discussion in this thread will be one reason I probably won't.
Yep, it is usually goodwill towards your fellow man that boomerangs back to hit you square in the face. If you had drafted a legal letter (which no one would have done, ever) that your coin was on consignment, then you could have legally obtained your coin after you spent 100 X what it was worth in legal fees.
Nowadays, everything I do is designed to avoid the IRS mafia or the Legal system mafia.
The return should be with interest and penalties
Edited to add and attorney fees
Martin
Those agents that stole other people's money and property without due process of law should be charged and tried in court with grand larceny. A badge isn't a license to steal.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
BHNC #248 … 130 and counting.
Add well earned pink slips for the thieves with all their cushy gov't bennies revoked.
I’ve avoided responding to this thread out of fear I’d lose control. So I’ll be blunt.
🤮 on feds.
Having fun while switching things up and focusing on a next level PCGS slabbed 1950+ type set, while still looking for great examples for the 7070.
Agree that some FBI agents involved here should be in hot water and pulled in some innocent folks while they were busy taking down bad guys in a broader investigation.
But the vitriol against law enforcement in this thread is ridiculous. I have three friends in law enforcement. One is an FBI agent, one is a DEA agent and one is a suburban police sergeant. Their jobs are not “cushy” and are in fact dangerous. And important.
Some of you paint with an awfully broad brush.
"Look up, old boy, and see what you get." -William Bonney.
I predict this thread will be closed by noon.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
LEOs used to get the benefit of the doubt. Now some doubt the benefit.
What timezone is your crystal ball in? It's after noon where I am and the thread is still open.
It Shirley is not a good trend going on 👎
The agents had to know that what they were doing was wrong. They should all have to answer for their actions in court. They called everyone guilty and took everything. That's not what the laws in our country are about.
I hope not.
I think some forum members are finding the NN article to be informative, as well as an estate planning cautionary tool.
After reading this article, I will never put my valuable coins in an SBD again.
@DocBenjamin suggested a mattress, I'm leaning towards burying the coins in mother earth and making a map where 'X' marks the spot. 😉
yep. buy some plastic pipes and caps.
Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value. Zero. Voltaire. Ebay coinbowlllc
If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Perhaps if men were still men, and didn’t hide behind the fear of losing their government pensions, and actually stood for something, perhaps things would change. Pathetic that men will sell their dignity for the privilege to keep sucking off the government’s teet.
Having fun while switching things up and focusing on a next level PCGS slabbed 1950+ type set, while still looking for great examples for the 7070.