The DEA seized her father's life savings at an airport without alleging any crime occurred

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Public Safety

The DEA seized her father’s life savings at an airport without alleging any crime occurred, lawsuit says

By Justin Jouvenal
Jan. 15, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. EST

Every dollar Terry Rolin had saved over a lifetime was stacked in a large Tupperware container: $82,373. At 79, he was aging and worried about keeping so much cash on hand, his daughter said, so during one of her visits he asked her to open a joint bank account.

Rebecca Brown was catching a flight home from the Pittsburgh airport early the next day and said she didn’t have time to stop at a bank. She confirmed on a government website that it’s legal to carry any amount of cash on a domestic flight and tucked the money in her carry-on.

But just minutes before departure in late August, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent met her at the busy gate and questioned her about the cash, which showed up on a security scan. He insisted Brown put Rolin on the phone to confirm her story. Brown said Rolin, who is suffering mental decline, was unable to verify some details.

“He just handed me the phone and said, ‘Your stories don’t match,’?” Brown recalled the agent saying. “?‘We’re seizing the cash.’?”

Brown said she was never told she or her father were under suspicion of committing any crime and neither has been charged with anything. A search of her bag turned up no drugs or other contraband. Neither she or her father appear to have criminal records that might raise suspicions.

Brown and Rolin filed a federal, class action Wednesday against the DEA, Transportation Security Administration and agency officials, claiming the agencies violate the Constitution’s ban on unlawful search and seizures by taking cash from travelers without probable cause. The lawsuit claims the only criteria the DEA has for seizing cash is if it finds amounts greater than $5,000.

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Justin Jouvenal
Justin Jouvenal covers courts and policing in Fairfax County and across the nation. He joined The Post in 2009. Follow https://twitter.com/jjouvenal

[Devilsun]

1. I went to school with Rebecca.

[stopdiggin]

2. I hope these people win their suit

but this was EXTREMELY unwise (and extremely naive) on her part. (and her father preceding her.)

(I am totally opposed to seizures of cash, without any sort of presumption or cause. But virtually everyone knows it is current practice. Not only federal, but also state and local.)

[CatMor]

3. With that amount of cash ....

perhaps it would have been wise for her to delay her flight and go to a bank. Assuming everything she claims is true I hope her fight to retrieve the cash doesn't take too long.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. It is beyond dumb to be carrying that much cash.

I mean, did he ask her at 10pm the night before her early morning flight to open a joint account?

But she should definitely get the money back immediately, if not sooner.

[bucolic_frolic]

5. Highway robbery

Courts need to push back against these G-men thugs

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

6. In some cases like that one, this quote applies:

"The Law is where you decide to skip dinner and a movie with family and friends so you can take the money, buy a gun and badge with it and give those to another person so he can point the gun at your head and use the badge to shield himself from your complaints."

I'm not a fan of the DEA.

I think property seized via civil forfeiture without a criminal conviction needs to be returned/repaid with an interest rate equal to the same rate as the average payday loan plus attorney's fees, court costs and any direct and indirect damages.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

8. DEA: Dispense Excessive Anguish n/t