Drug Crimes, Substance Abuse Siezure of $274,000 from car.

[stoner311]

My brother was on probation in the state of Indiana for importing marijuana from Canada. He had done his 3+ years in prison and was on a 5 year probation. During the probation he left the state and was headed Northwest through Idaho and was supposedly going to meet someone in Washington state to buy some land. While going through Idaho he was pulled over for a liscense plate error and the Police asked to search the car because he was acting "nervous." My brother let them and they found a bag with $274,000. My brother told them that it was money he had saved and that he was going to buy a house. They took the money and he was put in jail until the Indiana probation department was contacted and he was released to go back to Indiana. Instead he took off and hasn't been seen since. The family has been dealing with the heart ache of his disappearance for years. And until recently I didn't know about the siezure of the money. My question is what happened to the money? Technically he wasn't doing anything illegal other than breaking probation, so does the state have the right to take the money? Is there any way it can be retrieved at this point? There were no narcotics or anything drug related found with the money. Thank you.

 

[army judge]

The money, most probably was forfeited to Idaho. A hearing would have been held, and because your brother was not present (for the reasons you cited), the state (or county) was awarded the money. Money comes, money goes, but freedom is worth more than a quarter million any day. Besides, I'll bet your brother landed on his feet and is doing well. Living on the lam isn't easy, and getting caught is seldom worth the price.

 

[mightymoose]

The money obviously was not legitimate. It would never be returned to him or anyone else. The state/county claimed it.
Yes, they had the right to take the money. His story would have been investigated and the money returned if all checked out, but the money could be held for investigation.

 

[ananas238]

Conspiracy

Your brother would have been charged with consipracy (search wikipedia). Conspiracy is a pretty harsh offense. They would of course investigate phone calls, letters, email, bank records, etc. to find the communication he had with whoever he was bringing the money to. This would now land your brother's conspirator in jail also.

The reason your brother wasn't booked on conspiracy right away is because conspiracy involves 2 or more people. As soon as he would have named anyone else in the involvement of the money, they'd both be arrested on conspiracy charges and the case would begin.

If the money were legit, there would be some sort of evidence in your brother's favor regarding the source of the money and the motive for its use. The police would say that more legal methods of the transaction would be through bank accounts, etc. Cash is very suspicious, though it shouldn't be.

I would give it a 5% chance of ever getting the money back and your brother would have to get a great lawyer and retrace his steps in court.