Interplay of Administrative Forfeiture and Criminal Forfeiture

The seizing agency should commence administrative forfeiture proceedings against seized property by sending notice to potential claimants. Simultaneously, the U.S. Attorney should ask the grand jury to include a forfeiture allegation against the same property in a criminal indictment. This is the proper procedure. If there is no claim in the administrative forfeiture proceeding, the property will automatically be forfeited. In cases where no claim is filed and the property is forfeited administratively, however, it is necessary to strike the forfeiture allegation from the indictment to avoid a situation in which the court, the defendant, or the jury is confused by the procedure and mistakenly believes that the Government abandoned the administrative forfeiture once the indictment was returned, and intended to proceed with the criminal forfeiture alone. Accordingly, in cases where administrative and criminal forfeiture proceedings are instituted simultaneously, and no one files a claim in the administrative proceeding, the agency should complete the administrative forfeiture, and the AUSA handling the criminal case should file a motion reporting the completed forfeiture and therefore striking the forfeiture from the indictment.

See

Chapter 2 of the Asset Forfeiture Policy Manual ("Interplay of Administrative Forfeiture and Criminal Forfeiture").

[updated May 2010]