On an afternoon in February 2014, CBP officers running southbound inspections on the 905 at the Otay Mesa port of entry referred a Dodge Charger for secondary examination. A currency and firearms detector dog alerted to the passenger side of the dashboard. Behind the glove compartment officers found three bundles holding $79,925.
The driver, a California resident and lawful permanent resident of the United States, was arrested, turned over to Homeland Security Investigations, and transported to the Metropolitan Correctional Center to await arraignment. The money and the car were seized.
What happened next is the part worth understanding, because two entirely separate legal proceedings began at that moment and they run on different clocks. People routinely lose the second one while paying attention to the first.
Two Cases Start at the Same Moment
An arrest at a port of entry with concealed currency generates a criminal prosecution against the person and a civil forfeiture action against the property. They are not two halves of one case. They have different decision-makers, different standards of proof, different deadlines, and often different lawyers.
The criminal track
Custody passes from CBP to Homeland Security Investigations, then to a detention facility pending an initial appearance before a magistrate judge. A charge may proceed by complaint first and by indictment later. Detention or release conditions get decided early. From the defendant’s point of view this consumes everything, and reasonably so.
The civil track
Meanwhile the seizure is processed and referred to the Fines, Penalties and Forfeitures office for that field office. A custody receipt is issued at the port. A formal Notice of Seizure follows by mail, generally within 60 days of the seizure for currency matters, carrying an election of proceedings form and a response deadline that is ordinarily 30 days.
The forfeiture clock does not pause for the criminal case
Nothing about being in custody, being on release conditions, or having an active prosecution stops the response deadline on the seizure notice. Miss it and the money is administratively forfeited by default, regardless of how the criminal matter eventually turns out.
The Gap Where Money Gets Lost
This is the practical failure that recurs, and it has nothing to do with the strength of anyone’s case.
- The notice goes to an address you are not at. Mail sent to a home in Fresno does not reach someone held in San Diego, and mail sent to a border-area address does not reach someone who has gone home. Notices arrive late, get signed for by someone else, or sit unopened.
- Criminal counsel frequently does not handle forfeiture. A federal criminal defense lawyer retained for the prosecution may not take on the administrative seizure case, and may reasonably assume someone else is. Clients assume their lawyer is handling everything. Often nobody is handling the money.
- The instinct is to wait. Waiting to see how the criminal case resolves feels sensible and is not. The deadline runs first.
- Everything said in one case is available in the other. A submission explaining the source and intended use of the money is a statement in a matter where a prosecutor is on the other side.
The first document to locate is the custody receipt issued at the port, which is covered on our page about responding to the custody receipt from CBP. The choice made on the form that arrives later determines who decides the case, and it is explained on our page about the election of proceedings form.
Why the Concealment Drove Both Cases
Currency behind a glove compartment is the fact that converts a reporting matter into something else entirely.
Failing to file a report is one violation. Concealing money with intent to evade that requirement while moving it across a border is bulk cash smuggling, a separate federal offense carrying potential imprisonment. The government must prove the intent, and the location of the money is how it does so. Cash in a dashboard cavity is not cash someone forgot to mention.
The same fact hurts on the civil side independently. Concealment is an aggravating factor in CBP’s mitigation analysis, so even a claimant who documents a legitimate source and intended use faces a harder path to relief than one whose money was sitting in a bag.
An Arrest Decides Nothing
CBP’s own releases include a standard reminder that a criminal complaint raises no inference of guilt and that a defendant is presumed innocent until the government proves its case beyond a reasonable doubt. That is worth restating, because coverage of these cases rarely honors it.
It also cuts in an uncomfortable direction. The presumption governs the prosecution and does nothing for the money. Civil forfeiture applies a preponderance standard and proceeds on its own footing, so a case that is declined, dismissed, or won at trial does not return the currency. The civil side has to be defended on its own terms, within its own deadlines, by someone who is actually assigned to it.
Before anything is said or submitted anywhere, our page on why claimants should not call CBP after a currency seizure covers the post-seizure missteps that make both cases harder. Seizures at Otay Mesa, San Ysidro, Tecate, and the other crossings in the region are covered on our page about cash seized at San Diego area ports of entry. Outcomes depend heavily on the specific facts and the documentation available.
Arrested at the Border With Cash?
If a criminal case is pending, the forfeiture still needs its own defense on its own deadline. Contact us for a confidential case evaluation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my criminal case pause the forfeiture deadline?
No. The response deadline on a Notice of Seizure runs independently. Being in custody or having a prosecution pending does not extend it, and missing it can result in the money being forfeited by default.
Will my criminal defense lawyer handle the seized money?
Not necessarily. Federal criminal defense and customs forfeiture are different practices, and the administrative seizure case is frequently outside the scope of a criminal engagement. Confirm in writing who is responsible for it rather than assuming.
When should I expect the Notice of Seizure?
For currency matters it generally issues within 60 days of the seizure and arrives by mail from the Fines, Penalties and Forfeitures office. Make sure it is being sent somewhere you will actually receive it.
If the charges are dropped, do I get the money back?
Not automatically. Civil forfeiture is a separate proceeding decided under a lower standard of proof and can succeed even where no one is convicted. It has to be contested on its own.
Legal Disclaimer: This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it, or contacting Great Lakes Customs Law through this website, does not create an attorney-client relationship. Great Lakes Customs Law does not represent defendants in federal criminal proceedings; the description of the criminal process here is general background only. Deadlines and procedures vary by case and by port and should be confirmed against the documents you receive. Laws, regulations, and CBP procedures change, and the outcome of any customs seizure or forfeiture matter depends heavily on its specific facts and circumstances. No result is guaranteed or implied. References to a publicly reported arrest are descriptive only; an arrest raises no inference of guilt. You should consult a licensed attorney about your particular situation before taking or refraining from any action.