IJ won an early and important victory for property owners this week when a California federal judge issued a difficult to obtain temporary restraining order preventing the government’s shameless theft of our clients’ life savings. Please join IJ with a donation today and help us challenge—and end—even more outrageous abuses of government power.

The government’s cash grab started in March. The FBI raided the Beverly Hills company U.S. Private Vaults, where property owners from across southern California store their cash, jewelry, and other valuables in safe deposit boxes. Although the FBI suspected the company of wrongdoing, it had no reason to suspect any individual box holder of wrongdoing. Nevertheless, agents broke into every box and seized their contents. Then, after a delay of several months, the government moved to take over $85 million in cash (and millions more in precious metals, jewelry, and other property) using civil forfeiture. Practically any box of any significant monetary value was targeted for forfeiture.

As the judge noted when ruling in favor of IJ and our clients, the government “provide[d] no factual basis for the seizure of Plaintiffs’ property whatsoever.” This kind of lawless behavior from the government and its agents cannot be permitted to continue—and IJ is here to ensure that it doesn’t. We will take this first-round victory and expand it to ensure that every individual who had property seized in the raid is afforded the protections the Constitution guarantees.

Please support these vital efforts. IJ’s fiscal year ends on June 30: Your gift now will help us close the year out as strong financially as we are in court. What’s more, thanks to a challenge grant for new IJ supporters, your donation will be matched dollar for dollar, making your contribution go even further.

Please help IJ vindicate the constitutional rights of our clients and so many others. It has never been more important.

Scott

Scott G. Bullock
President and General Counsel
Institute for Justice

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