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Civil Forfeiture of Corporately Owned Property

By Stewart E. Sterk
January 04, 2006

Federal statutes provide for forfeiture of real property used in conjunction with a variety of criminal activity. Although the primary focus of federal civil forfeiture statutes has been on drug-related offenses, the reach of these statutes now extends to a variety of other crimes. A recent Southern District case, however, raises an issue not explicitly resolved by the forfeiture statutes: when is the property of a corporate owner subject to forfeiture?

479 Tamarind Drive

In United States v. 479 Tamarind Drive (NYLJ 10/21/05, p. 24, col. 1), the federal government sought forfeiture of real property allegedly purchased to launder proceeds of a health care fraud conspiracy. The perpetrators of the alleged fraud  — husband and wife — were both indicted; wife was convicted while husband fled to Canada to avoid arrest. When the government sought forfeiture of the property, several claimants contested the forfeiture: the husband, two corporations that asserted ownership interests, and two shareholders in the corporate claimants.

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