Don’t Lose Your Money to Government Seizure
It’s a common topic of popular discussion. People often ask “who funds the government?”
Believe it or not, they fund themselves through taxes and other means. While this may not be the answer everyone is expecting, it is 100% true. It is just one of the certainties that Oklahomans must accept. While tax shelters and creative accounting might reduce tax burdens, there’s ultimately little people can legally do to avoid the government taking at least some of your money through taxes.
However, what people can do is make sure their assets are secure. Why? Because taxes are not the only means the government uses to generate revenue. If you’ve ever been cited for a traffic violation, you’re familiar with one other source of government revenue: fines. But there’s another revenue-grabbing tool in the government’s arsenal many people are don’t know about.
What is Civil Asset Forfeiture in Oklahoma
Civil asset forfeiture is the process by which a government seizes the property of its citizen. It typically works like this: a police officer pulls you over in traffic, she finds a few thousand dollars in our vehicle, she announces that her agency is taking the money and you drive away with a receipt but without the money. Or you landed at the airport with a few thousand in your luggage, only for it to be discovered and seized by security officials.
Any time a government takes the property of an innocent citizen, the citizen should take immediate action. Just because the government has the authority to take away citizens’ property, does not mean they should have the right to withhold such assets indefinitely. Asset forfeiture attorneys in Oklahoma know the process of how the government takes citizens’ property, but they also know the process of how to get it back.
Legally, asset forfeiture rides on laws that target proceeds of criminal enterprise. Some forfeiture laws allow seizure of non-cash property used in criminal activity. The downside is that nobody has to be convicted of a crime for the government to grab cash or property from private citizens. Asset forfeiture is a civil procedure. Sometimes the legal filing even names the property itself as a defendant. This is one of the weirder legal constructs in play today but it seems to make perfect sense to the officials empowered to rifle through citizens belongings in search of ill-gotten goods.
Asset forfeiture can affect practically anyone in Grady County. Those who do not have the assistance of legal professionals are more likely to permanently lose assets because they don’t know how to defend them under the law. People work their entire lives to acquire assets such as houses, cars, and other kinds of property. Maybe you sold a truck and are traveling with cash to buy a new vehicle. With threats of hacking disrupting the financial system, some people simply like to keep a stash of cash on hand. To the employees of government agencies, your stack of hard-earned cash can look like the proceeds of a criminal enterprise — until you prove otherwise.
It’s not just money law enforcement agencies seize. Vehicles are common targets. If police allege you used your car to distribute drugs, they may try to seize the vehicle. Or unscrupulous crime-fighters might claim small amounts of marijuana that might even be legal under Oklahoma law comprise evidence of a criminal enterprise so they try to seize your vehicle. They might find a few intoxicating plants growing in your house and try to seize the house. Federal authorities might even get involved, using federal law in concert with state law to get hooks on your hard earned property.
Why let someone take what you work for? Do you work for your money? Good… then you have an entitlement to your money. Speak with a Chickasha asset forfeiture attorney to find out how you can protect the property you and your loved one’s enjoy.
Ask a Chickasha Lawyer to Get Your Money Back
Imagine this: Tim is planning on purchasing a new vehicle with cold, hard cash. Right before he makes it to the dealership, authorities pull Tim over. The officers ask Tim a few simple yet intrusive questions. Tim complies with officers and tells them exactly what they want to hear. He has money and lots of it.
All of a sudden, the officers somehow find it reasonable to confiscate his money. He loses $55,000 dollars in the blink of an eye.
Tim can do one of a few things. He can let his hard work go to waste and allow the authorities to take his money. Or he can call a Chickasha asset forfeiture attorney to help him recover his money. What would you do if you were in Tim’s position?
The best thing Tim can do is contact an attorney before prosecutors appropriate his property among law enforcement agencies. While most officers would never engage in extortion of any kind, Oklahoma asset forfeiture laws might motivate even the most by-the-book cop to play along. They might ask you to sign an admission the money is ill-gotten in exchange for being released from jail, or to avoid serious felony charges.
By hiring an attorney, plenty of Oklahomans recover the money they work tirelessly to bring home. No matter your occupation, no person who makes an honest living in Grady County deserves to be a victim of asset forfeiture. Oklahoma prosecutors sometimes accuse hard-working Americans of having affiliations to drug activity simply as the result of some citizens preferring to have physical cash. Wirth Law Office has an attorney who may be able to prove your innocence and recover your money. If this sounds like you, contact a Chickasha Lawyer before it is too late.
Asset Forfeiture Attorney in Chickasha
Asset forfeiture comes in many forms. However, the most common kind of asset forfeiture is one in which the police approach an innocent citizen as if they are doing a routine traffic violation. Instead of writing a citation or fine, the officers question drivers with basic information. Questions such as how much money are you carrying? Where are you driving to? How did you acquire said money? Though citizens have no obligation to answer officers when questioned in this manner, they often do so, falling for this elaborate trap.
By answering unnecessary questions, drivers open themselves up for law enforcement exploitation. Officers use questions to determine how much money a driver is carrying. If officers “suspect” that a citizen is in possession of money they obtained through illegitimate ways, officers may take and withhold cash from its rightful owner. Unfortunately, some officers have taken advantage of this authority, and are sometimes responsible for taking thousands of dollars from hard-working Oklahomans with no just cause. If you feel this is applicable to you or someone you know speaks with an attorney to see how you recover your misplaced assets.
Free Grady County Attorney Consultations
America is a free country. We have freedom of speech, freedom from servitude, and we have the freedom to own property. Let no one encroach on your freedoms. Hire an attorney to protect your right to own property today.
Wirth Law Office – Chickasha offers free consultations for those who may be at risk of asset forfeiture. Don’t let law enforcement take advantage of you. Take back what is yours by consulting with an attorney at (405) 272-4100 or contacting a Grady County criminal attorney using the consult button on this Web page.