Originally Posted by Mike Marra
Once money is seized, it is VERY HARD to get the USG to give it back.

We had a guy in the Army who was, for some reason, moving across country and instead of electronically switching banks - decided to travel with $26K in cash.

I do not know why but he got pulled over and the cash was seized as the state troopers assumed he was up to no good. The man was NOT arrested and was not charged with any crimes.

It took a lawsuit and 10 months of a hired lawyer to wrest the $$$ back to him. He did get it all back, but no interest and had to eat the lawyer fees per-hour + the massive inconvenience and anxiety of having all his money tied-up. This is shocking to me. Seems like a bit of "over-governance" but that's just me. That being said, I am a fan of our thin-blue-line and appreciate all they do to keep us safe. This was definitely an isolated incident.

Lesson for me: I have the right to carry large amounts of cash, but it comes with a modicum of risk.


There was something like this on 60 Minutes a few years back where a guy had gotten out of the Air Force and was driving back to the West Coast, got pulled over in Kansas right before the Colorado border... and they took his money... What the poor guy had to go through to get it back.

My own story... I went to go get a car and told the seller I was paying cash as he was adamant about no checks. When I showed up at the location, things we looking a little sketchy. I went through the drill of looking it over etc... but when he asked if I had the money, I asked where the nearest Wells Fargo was and he could bring the car and the pink slip and we'll do the transaction there...

Needless to say, he was not happy and I walked..

Last edited by John Schwartz; 03/11/24 09:18 PM.
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