FEAR-List Bulletin posted by Kathy Bergman,  6/3/95

How about a little good news!

Today I received a phone call from a forfeiture victim I have talked to numerous times over the past 9 months. Finally, he had some good news to share with me!

In the early 90's, both he and his wife were charged criminally by the State, had their home and business seized by the feds, and were forced to pay $18,000.00 to the state franchise tax board. The way he explained it to me was that the franchise tax board insisted that he owed them tax money for the illegal act for which he was charged.

For two years, his business was closed and he and his wife negotiated their sentencing and forfeiture situation. Eventually, he bought back his business and his home, paying over $100,000 MORE to buy it back from the government than he had originally paid for the property. Plus, he took a variable mortgage, and his house payments have now doubled. He was convicted criminally, but I believe he did not serve much time.

This man first called shortly after the $405k case made the news. He was hoping the double jeopardy challenge would apply in his case, even though the state brought the criminal charges and the feds took his house and business. This week he heard again about the $405k ruling, and was hoping the Supreme Court had spoken. I urged him to call a lawyer familiar with forfeiture law, so they could go over possible double jeopardy defenses that might be unique to his case.

Anyway, on to his good news: He had been very despondent when we last spoke, telling me that he just couldn't let things rest the way they were. In particular, he felt he shouldn't have paid the Franchise Tax Board and wanted to get his money back. But, the attorney he had paid to go after them had not produced any results. He was wondering what to do, so of course I urged him to start writing letters and making phone calls on his own behalf. I felt this was someone that really needed to take charge of his own life since he was so depressed about what had happened.

Well guess what!! After months and months of letters and phone calls, all telling him to contact this person, then that person, then this office, then that office, he hit pay dirt. The big cheese he finally got in touch with looked his case over and said "No, we shouldn't have taken your money. We will give it back. Plus $7,000 in interest!" He has signed the paperwork and will be
receiving the money any time now.

I told him I was really proud of him and could just feel him beaming over the phone. It wasn't just the money, you know. It was the idea that his life had been changed forever, out of the blue, with his destiny taken out of his control. I have been trying to get him to write his story, but he says he doesn't have the initiative to do it. But, today for the first time, he told me he would be interested in being interviewed, hoping that a reporter could help him put into words the distress he and his wife have been living with for 5 years now.