FBI drilled open 1400 safe deposit boxes with plans to keep everyone's valuables for themselves

[Demovictory9]

FBI misled judge who signed warrant for Beverly Hills seizure of $86 million in cash


https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-09-23/fbi-beverly-hills-safe-deposit-box-raid-forfeiture-judge

FBI misled judge who signed warrant for Beverly Hills seizure of $86 million in cash

The privacy invasion was vast when FBI agents drilled and pried their way into 1,400 safe-deposit boxes at the U.S. Private Vaults store in Beverly Hills.

They rummaged through personal belongings of a jazz saxophone player, an interior designer, a retired doctor, a flooring contractor, two Century City lawyers and hundreds of others.

_____&

Eighteen months later, newly unsealed court documents show that the FBI and U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles got their warrant for that raid by misleading the judge who approved it.

They omitted from their warrant request a central part of the FBI’s plan: Permanent confiscation of everything inside every box containing at least $5,000 in cash or goods, a senior FBI agent recently testified.

____


Box holders would liken the raid to police barging into a building’s 700 apartments and taking every tenant’s possessions when they have evidence of wrongdoing by nobody but the landlord.

------

In some of those cases, prosecutors cited no evidence that the money was tied to any specific crime, alleging simply that a dog smelled drug residue on the cash, or that it was bagged or wrapped in a way that aroused suspicion of drug trafficking.

[Thomas Hurt]

1. Why does this smell like the Pig inspired this or maybe ordered it.

Sorry I will take off my aluminum beanie now...

[Irish_Dem]

2. I wondered the same thing. Timing is suspicious.

[Demovictory9]

6. Happened two years ago..latimes reported on it. This is update

[Schmice3]

18. I know. Lots of people didn't catch it.

[CentralMass]

8. ...

[certainot]

13. yep. there's pattern. like hillary's emails. they pump it out 1500 radio stations and it's true!

that's been politics in the USA for 30 years. when are democrats going to wake up.

we even let 87+ universities support 260+ of those radio stations without complaint.

that is dumb. and i think - city dumb.

[TigressDem]

28. BECAUSE... ACTUAL event happened in 2021... look farther down in the article

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-09-23/fbi-beverly-hills-safe-deposit-box-raid-forfeiture-judge


FBI says fortune seized in Beverly Hills raid was criminals’ loot. Owners say: Where’s the proof?

The FBI’s attempt to confiscate tens of millions of dollars from Beverly Hills safe deposit boxes draws resistance and charges of government misconduct.

Sept. 19, 2021




FBI wants to keep fortune in cash, gold, jewels from Beverly Hills raid. Is it abuse of power?

Customers of U.S. Private Vaults are suing the FBI over its attempt to confiscate gold and silver, jewelry and $86 million in cash from safe deposit boxes.

June 9, 2021

[Bayard]

3. trump will use this story

To promote his FBI fairy tale about Mar-A-Largo.

[Samrob]

11. It was the FBI under the Trump administration, wasn't it? nt

[TexasBushwhacker]

19. Under his appointee, Christopher Wray n/t

[certainot]

15. 1500 radio stations will use this story, which is why he could get anywhere near the WH in

the first place

if rw radio was digitized, as would be easy with AI, dems would know this was bullshit and could prove it

[underpants]

4. That's wrong and bizarre

[I_UndergroundPanther]

5. Get the sociopathy out of our government

[DURHAM D]

7. When did the FBI become a crime syndicate? nt

[TheProle]

9. July 26, 1908

[WhiskeyGrinder]

26. This.

[NQAS]

10. Crazy story

But keep in mind this was the fbi under trump and a corrupt administration.

[somaticexperiencing]

12. story to discredit the FBI, obviously. accurate or inaccurate, that's what this is.

[TigressDem]

29. Reason for search, not wrong.... and could be the goods are simply being held until it's all sorted.

SNIP

FBI agent Lynne Zellhart, a former Sacramento attorney, first heard about it from a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy. Customers, who could rent boxes without identifying themselves, entered the store’s vault with a biometric eye scan, the deputy told her.

The Sheriff’s Department suspected a customer was a criminal but was “having all kinds of problems getting into the box that they had a warrant for because of the nature of the business,” Zellhart testified in the class-action suit.

By 2019, federal and local law enforcement had managed to search more than a dozen boxes and seized about $5 million from five drug dealers, a bookie and a debit card thief.

The FBI opened an investigation of the business itself. Zellhart, who specializes in money laundering, said she thought it should be shut down. She joined forces with counterparts at the Drug Enforcement Administration and Postal Inspection Service.

Through surveillance, informants and undercover work, they surmised that U.S. Private Vaults and a precious-metals store next door were helping drug dealers launder cash by converting it into gold and silver they stashed in their boxes.




WAS EVERYONE USING IT DOING IT FOR NEFARIOUS PURPOSES?

HARD TO SAY.

[Cheezoholic]

14. J Edgar man

We will use them when they're on our side but they're still super cops. I've found it fascinating
that the left have suddenly become Fed luggers when it benefits them lol.

[Raine]

20. I feel the same

I've never liked the FBI or trusted them and I never will no matter whose side they take.

[DFW]

16. They must think they are in Belgium

There is (or was until recently) a corrupt section of the Belgian financial police that was doing this kind of thing systematically. They would go from diamond dealer to diamond dealer snd then gold dealer to gold dealer and accuse them of “money laundering.” They would then confiscate everything of value, make up a few dozen fictitious pieces of “evidence” to keep the case open, but cold. After five to ten years, they would says, “oops, our bad,” and then return part or none of what they had seized.

One famous case was when they confiscated €10 million from a diamond dealer, used the time to exchange the gem quality diamonds for industrial diamonds, worth a tiny fraction. The dirty cops said they had returned the same number of carats originally seized, so shut up. I had lunch with the majority leader of the Belgian Senate about ten years ago, and she knew all about it. She said that Belgium’s divided government was just too weak to do anything about the problem.

There was another case where this dirty brigade did the same to a small gold dealer, whose total net worth was tied up in 15 kilo bars of gold, all of which were confiscated. After five or so years, he was told, “oops ok you’re innocent after all, here are your 12 kilos back.” He reminded them they were to return 15 kilos. They said shut up if you don’t want it to happen again. The only reason it came to light is that the girlfriend of one of the dirty cops broke up with him, and told some other cops where in their apartment the stolen 3 kilo bars could be found.

This brigade still exists, although I don’t know if it’s under the same “management.” One of the brigade recently retired and had the gall to revisit one of his former victims, who also dealt in foreign exchange, to say he might show up if he needed currency of some popular resort locations. I guess if you’re going go bribe some building inspectors on Bali, you will need some Indonesian rupees.

There was a similar group of French customs agents around the same time, but the French have a more powerful central government. They are still bureaucrats who take care of their own, but they no longer terrorize small merchants near the stock exchange. Their head guy was transferred to Charles de Gaulle airport, where he now inspects cheese coming in from Switzerland, or some similar job where he can’t steal from his victims, just levy small fines for labeling violations, real or imagined.

[EnterwebsJohn]

17. I wonder if Donald stashed it in Mar a Lago? NT

[pecosbob]

21. This isn't a blue or red thing...it's a cop thing.

Illegal seizures have become common practice for LEOs nationwide.

[ck4829]

22. Sooo, bank robbery, but with a warrant?

Last edited Mon Oct 3, 2022, 09:27 AM - Edit history (1)

Christian Nation

[Chainfire]

23. A good reason to keep your money under the mattress.

At least if a crook gets it from there, the justice system will recognize him as a thief.

Dogs detected dope on the money? Who will cross examine the dogs in court? Most any circulated 100 dollar bill could have traces of dope on it. I keep some 100 dollar bills in my safe, any of them could have traces of dope and it was certainly not placed there by me. It seems as if it is a clear policy of guilty until proven innocent.

Wrapped in a way that aroused suspicion? Well, hell, that is prima facie evidence of guilt. Wrapped how, in paper sleeves like banks use? Placed in a baggie? How should I "wrap" my money to be safe from that kind of suspicion?

With a situation like that, you have to wonder how much of the confiscated cash made it back to headquarters? Who is to say there was five or ten thousand dollars in the box?

[Brainfodder]

24. Bad apples spoiling stew BS, Hunter also recently shoutout from TFG, so they are desperate!

So don't bring full thinking caps out?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

25. Lol cops gonna cop.

[Demsrule86]

27. I would not post this...playing Trump's game.