John:

I have good news to share with you in our ongoing efforts to hold the FBI accountable for its unprecedented—and illegal—raid of the hundreds of safe deposit boxes at US Private Vaults. After facing mounting pressure from an IJ lawsuit, the FBI has agreed to fully compensate property owners who had cash and coins go missing after the FBI raided their safe deposit boxes.

In January, a federal appellate court held that the entire raid violated the Fourth Amendment. This separate case arose when the FBI failed to return 63 gold coins (worth over $166,000) to our client Don Mellein, and then refused to compensate Don.

The FBI tried to claim immunity, but after a judge denied that the FBI finally gave up and agreed to compensate Don. Since we sued the FBI and exposed what it did to the customers of US Private Vaults, hundreds of thousands of dollars in property has been returned to our clients; hundreds of thousands more has been paid in compensation for lost property; and many millions of dollars in seized property has been returned to other box holders.

“The FBI had no reason to go through my box and they were careless in losing my coins. It should not have taken a lawsuit for the government to do the right thing.”

- Don Mellein

Moreover, this lawsuit uncovered very troubling details about the FBI’s handling of property during the raid. ([link removed] ) While the FBI started by making careful records of box holders’ property, they quickly abandoned these procedures in favor of completing the raid faster.

As a result, many people’s valuables disappeared without a trace.

IJ filed a similar lawsuit on behalf of boxholders Jeni Pearsons and Michael Storc after $2,000 in cash went missing from their box. The FBI agreed to pay Jeni and Michael the full value of the misplaced property to settle the case.

Thank you to our supporters for standing with us as we unravel the FBI’s search, seizure, and forfeiture scheme and reinforce the constitutional protections afforded to us all. 

Scott

Scott G. Bullock

President and Chief Counsel

Institute for Justice

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