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"Under federal law, the owner of seized property can seek its return if the government's continuing to hold it would cause a "substantial hardship" to its owner."

So the US can seize my laptop or large quantities of my monetary savings and I have no legal right to get those things back?




Google "civil forfeiture" -- scary stuff. You can get it back, but the onus is on you to stake a valid claim.


Sometimes they'll strike a deal with the rightful owner outside of court - essentially holding the property for ransom.




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