To avoid implicating the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment, a
criminal forfeiture sanction must pass a four-factor test considering the nature and extent of illegal activity, whether the forfeiture statute was designed to punish individuals such as the defendant, the maximum penalty that a court could impose for the offense, and the harm caused by the offense.
Although not clearly guided by legal precedent in this unprecedented
criminal forfeiture case involving BNPP, the Department of Justice--including Attorney General Loretta Lynch--certainly has the power and discretion to expedite forfeiture funds that have been designated for "restitution.
At her confirmation hearing, Lynch insisted "civil and
criminal forfeiture are very important tools" and that forfeitures are "done pursuant to supervision by a court, it is done pursuant to court order, and I believe the protections are there.
Unlike
criminal forfeiture, in which the loss of property is contingent on the owner's conviction of a crime, in civil forfeiture it is the property itself that is "accused" of involvement in criminal activity, and it is up to the owner to prove the taking was wrong.
Reynolds, a former prosecutor who worked on civil and
criminal forfeiture cases, has played a key role in a recent reorganisation of FinCEN's enforcement unit.
Levin also managed the District Attorney's restoration of forfeited funds to crime victims and, among his many notable accomplishments, was the original drafter of a
criminal forfeiture and criminal monetary recovery statute that was included in New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo's 2012 budget proposal.
In satisfying its
criminal forfeiture penalty, BNPP will receive credit for payments it is making in connection with its resolution of these related state and regulatory matters.
7 billion
criminal forfeiture and will go to a second victims' pool, already with $2.
federal
criminal forfeiture law, (44) the indictment authorized
The main avenues for the government to take private property are through civil forfeiture or
criminal forfeiture, the latter occurring only after there's been a criminal conviction, said Bullock.
resorting to unilateral measures in cases where
criminal forfeiture has been unavailable as no known defendants can be identified or returned to the U.
After an indictment was filed against him in July 2011 for wire fraud, computer fraud, obtaining information from a protected computer and
criminal forfeiture, he was released on $100,000 bond.
