Arrest, Search, Seizure, Warrant Seeking legal advise pertaining to counterfeit bag sales in SF, CA.

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kokona

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Hi,
About 7 years ago I resided in San Francisco, CA. I was international student from Indonesia and was attending college in the city. Due to financial problem back at home, I tried to get job in the city. Due to my Visa status I wasn't able to find job. About a year later my roommate introduced me to sell bags in eBay auction. I begin to sell counterfeit bag imported from Indonesia until FBI agent with search warrant came to my apartment at 8am in the morning. They told me that they are not going to arrest me and it was simply gathering all the evidence in my apartment. They took all the bags, computer, and cell phone. They returned my laptop few days later after they had cloned my laptop hard-drive. I went to a lawyer and consulted them about my case. The outcome seems bad at that time and I decided to leave the country. Now 7 years later, I am married with 2 children and is doing quite well with my business and its 100% honest. The horror I encountered back in US was huge shame shadowing my career.

The question I have is, am I a wanted man? I believe the case was brought to court with me missing. But I couldn't find my record in criminal record. If I ever return to US, will I get arrested? Statue of limitation apply to this case?

Any help is much appreciate.

Thank you.
 
Apply for a visa to visit the US at the US embassy.

If you're wanted they'll tell you why, because you won't be issued the visa.

More than likely your name is on some FBI list.

If I were you, I'd stay as far away from the US as possible.

Why?

They might lie to you, only to deceive you to come back to the US where they might arrest you.

The FBI can be very tricky if they are after you.

They more than likely did charge you with something.

I wouldn't trust them no matter what they say.

But, if you want to take the risk, I told you what you might be able to do.
 
Land or Divert?

Of course you would not find any "criminal record" pertaining to you since you never went through the criminal system; Federal or State, meaning that you were never arrested, arraigned, convicted, did time, etc, etc. But you can check two other data sites which can tell you for a 100% certainty if you are a wanted man here in the U.S. or not.

Check with the office of California Attorney General at http://ag.ca.gov/wanted/wanted_search.php for any federal warrants. You may also want to check https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cand/index.html ; this is U.S. District Court for Northern District of California records look up. Just punch in your personal details to see if you were ever a defendant in a criminal case.

If both of these checks come back positive, you are clear for landing on U.S. soil, but if your name pops up on any of these sites, then you may want to divert to another landing strip because you will be arrested the second you land anywhere in the continental U.S.A.

fredrikklaw
 
Isnt there is statue of limitation in CA?

Isnt there is statue of limitation in the state of CA? The case been 7 years past. Last time I check for fraud case has SOL of 3 years.

I went to ag.ca.gov/wanted/wanted_search.php[/url] and my name is not pop out.

Thanks for the reply.
 
Last edited:
kokona said:
Isnt there is statue of limitation in the state of CA? The case been 7 years past. Last time I check for fraud case has SOL of 3 years.

I went to ag.ca.gov/wanted/wanted_search.php[/url] and my name is not pop out.

Thanks for the reply.
Click to expand...


Yes, but if the state believes you absconded (fugitive from justice), the SOl will not begin to toll; until they catch you!

I don't think you have anything to worry about on this one, Kokona.

But, why in God's Holy name would you want to waste your money and endanger your life by coming back to the lawless and bankrupt United States?


Why not travel to beautiful, friendly, civilized Australia?

Britain is very nice this time of year, too.

Our Canadian neighbors have a great country and friendly people, too.

New Zealand, now there is a little paradise, with really nice people.

The Bahamas, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, The Canary Islands, or Bermuda are very nice places to visit, too.

Go ahead and come back to the US if you feel so compelled, but there are better and safer places to see and spend your money!
 
Thanks for the advice buddy :) I'm looking for lawyer to help me check out my case status and is there anything can be done to clear the case.. 7 years is really long time.. I hope the State of CA can give second chance. People do change allot after 7 years... In a way I was glad that the FBI agent showed up at my door... It does put me on a right track again.. Honest business is still the best way to go.. Less money but you can sleep soundly at night.

Allot of the country you mention are really good.. I've been to allot of them and San Francisco is still the best city.. I just hope that I can bring my daughter back to the city she was born during school holiday.
 
U.S. Code to the rescue!

KOKONA:

I think you are confusing the civil and criminal Statutes of Limitation; the 3 years S.O.L. for fraud which you have mentioned pertains to civil cases where one private party sues another private party and is exclusive to California.

If you were visited by F.B.I. agents, then you should be looking at the Federal criminal statutes of limitation and if U.S. Code §3282 (a) is anything to go by, which it surely is, then you must be clear as it has been 7 years since the incident and this code limits the time for prosecution to 5 years. U.S. Code §3282 (a) says that:

"Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, no person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any offense, not capital, unless the indictment is found or the information is instituted within five years after such offense shall have been committed."

Have an attorney check it out for sure, but by all accounts, you should have no problems on your return here.

fredrikklaw
 
Thank you so much for the speedy reply. Do you have any suggestion which lawyer firm that I can seek help to clear this case? What are the going rate?

Again, thank you for all the answer.
 
Hm... I always understood that the clock stops when people leave the country to avoid prosecution. It is possible a warrant was issued within those five years, and if so it owuld remain valid. I'd bet they could still prosecute if he should return.
 
mightymoose said:
Hm... I always understood that the clock stops when people leave the country to avoid prosecution. It is possible a warrant was issued within those five years, and if so it owuld remain valid. I'd bet they could still prosecute if he should return.
Click to expand...

If the clock stop when one left the country, then what is SOL for?

Found this article at Hock law group,

State statute of limitation laws are for the protection of the individual. If cases were allowed to be held for an indeterminate amount of time, several issues arise. First off, over time, evidence can be damaged, memories can fade, and prosecution becomes unreliable. Second, no one should have the specter of past deeds (or suspicion of deeds), hanging over their heads. Limiting the amount of time a crime can be investigated ensures that an individual can go on with their life in a timely manner.
 
Pursuant to PC 803(d) it appears that the time can be extended by three years if you are out of the state. However, if they initiated proceedings as a result of the investigation, then the SOL is no longer relevant.

I'd contact a law firm to check on your case ... if they can find out anything. If no legal action has been commenced, it could be an open file somewhere and it could come back to life depending on the details of your original crimes.
 
kokona said:
If I visit England, can I get arrested for the case above?
Click to expand...





Probably, not!

The Brits don't care about people wanted for crimes allegedly committed in the US.

You have not been convicted of anything, even if you've been charged.

So, the Brits won't have a manhunt out for you.

Travel in peace and enjoy your trip to Britain.

Britain is a great country this time of year, and their citizens are usually a tad more refined than US citizens; especially since the football season has ended!
 
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