California jeweler to have $42,000 seized by Indianapolis police returned
A California jeweler is set to have $42,000 in cash returned to him after it was seized by Indianapolis police and the Marion County prosecutor. The jeweler, Henry Cheng, questioned the seizure of the cash payment made via FedEx, stating that it was a legitimate business transaction.
Cheng’s jewelry business, which has been operating for about 30 years in California, had a customer in Virginia who wanted to pay in cash. The money was placed in a FedEx package, which was then seized by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department at the airport. The police suspected drugs were in the package, but only found cash.
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office filed a lawsuit to seize the money, claiming it was the proceeds of a crime. Cheng’s lawyer, Marie Miller, stated that Indiana had no basis to forfeit the money and that the government has agreed to return it.
The Institute for Justice, a nonprofit law firm, is working on counterclaims to end the state’s practices of seizing money from in-transit parcels without a valid reason. Indiana has already seized $1 million from such parcels in 2022.
Cheng expressed his happiness at the prospect of getting his money back, stating that what happened to his company should not happen to anyone. The case highlights the need to stop the abuse of civil forfeiture and protect law-abiding citizens from having their property seized unjustly.
Source
Photo credit www.wishtv.com
