Home » Marijuana Defense » Airport Cash Seizure

Cash Seizures at the DFW Airport

Did a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) seize your cash at the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport? If so, attorney David Sloane can help you fight to get your money back quickly.

Although most seizures of cash at the Dallas/Fort Worth (DWF) Airport involve task force officers or special agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), others participating in the investigation might include:

agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA);
DFW Police CID Detectives;
Tarrant County Narcotics Detectives; and
K9 drug dogs.

Immediately after the seizure, retain Attorney David Sloane to file a verified claim to contest the legality of the seizure. The claim forces Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to refer the matter to an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) with USAO-NDTX Asset Recovery, in Dallas, TX.

The AUSA then has 90 days to decide whether to immediately return the money or pursue court action in a forfeiture case by filing a complaint in the U.S. District Court.

These passenger interdictions at the airport target “bulk cash smuggling.” At the Dallas / Fort Worth Airport, the agents often target travelers with recently purchased one-way tickets to California, Oregon, or Washington.

Although the law does not place any limits on carrying U.S. Currency on domestic flights, if the agent develops “probable cause” that a large sum of U.S. currency being used in the drug trade or for money laundering, then the agent might be able to seize it for forfeiture. The seizure then triggers a civil asset forfeiture proceeding under state or federal law.

Just because an agent with Homeland Security or a local law enforcement officer seized your money at the airport in Dallas, TX, doesn’t mean they will be able to keep it, especially if you immediately hire an experienced attorney to protect your rights.

These federal agents cast a wide net and often seize money from completely innocent travelers.

Attorneys for Cash Seizures at the Airport in Dallas / Fort Worth, TX

The attorneys at Law Offices of David Sloane, PLLC represent clients for cases at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Whether you were charged with a felony or misdemeanor we can help.

We are also experienced in representing clients who were never arrested for any crime, but had their cash or money was seized for a civil asset forfeiture action in state or federal court.

Contact attorney David Sloane about fighting a seizure of U.S. Currency at the DFW Airport. Attorney David Sloane can file and litigate a verified claim and demand for court action or early judicial intervention in federal court.

After the claim is filed, attorney David Sloane can gather evidence showing that detention was illegal from its inception. By preserving the airport’s video surveillance recording, he can show problems with the alleged “consensual encounters with random individuals.”

When it comes to currency seizure cases, attorney David Sloane is familiar with the tactics used by Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The attorneys at the firm can act quickly to obtain a court order for the surveillance video from the airport authorities at the DFW airport.

Our civil asset forfeiture attorneys also represent clients after a seizure for forfeiture of U.S. Currency by narcotics officers on Interdiction Squads at the Dallas Police Department working at the Dallas Love Field Airport. Cash seizures also occur less frequently at the Fort Worth Alliance Airport or the Fort Worth Meacham International Airport.

The forfeiture action might be processed under state or federal law. Either way, let us put our experience to work for you.

Call (817) 810-0088 to discuss your case.

Typical Cash Seizures at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

Agents with the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) task force go out of their way to claim the encounter was completely consensual. In fact, the agents are trained on how to conduct “consensual encounters” with random individuals in an attempt to interdict any contraband or illegal activity.

Many of these interdiction efforts to seize cash occur at the busiest airports in Texas including the Dallas Love Field Airport and the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport.

During the “consensual encounter,” several agents might surround the traveler and ask for their boarding pass and identification. Then the agents start to interrogate the traveler about the reason for the trip and whether they are carrying any cash.

Although the agent might deny it, most of these cases involve a “secret tip” from a TSA agent that money was detected during the screening process. During such an encounter, the traveler is allowed to say:

“I don’t answer questions. I don’t consent to searches. Am I free to leave?”

Even though the traveler is under no legal obligation to answer any questions, people often feel obligated to do so. Agents with Homeland Security might use coercive tactics or illegally prolong the detention. Those tactics leave the traveler with little choice but to cooperate.

The agents might ask to search the traveler’s body or luggage. In some cases, the agents might retrieve the checked luggage before it is loaded on the plane or after it is on its way to the baggage claim area after a flight.

The agent might note in their report that the subject’s “level of nervousness appeared to escalate and his carotid arteries on his neck were visibly bouncing.” The agents might escort the traveler to a nearby CBP attached interview room “for more privacy.”

Eventually, the agents with Homeland Security Investigations seize the cash and write the traveler a receipt. The agent might tell you that you must wait up to sixty (60) days for the “notice of seizure” to arrive in the mail, but you can speed the case up by hiring an attorney to file a verified claim for court action (early judicial intervention) on your behalf.

The agent might suggest using an administrative proceeding for remission, mitigation, or an offer in compromise, but those administrative claims often result in a simple form letter denying any relief.

If your money was seized at the airport in Dallas/Ft. Worth, then don’t delay. Hire an attorney at Law Offices of David Sloane, PLLC to file a verified claim under state or federal law. Our attorneys can file the claim and fight to get your money back in court.

Call (817) 810-0088.

Additional Resources

CBP’s Fines and Forfeiture Office in Irving, TX – After a seizure of U.S. Currency at the airport by federal agents, the notice of the seizure and the intent to forfeit the property is published in compliance with CAFRA by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The notice is required by 19 C.F.R. 162.45 and 19 U.S.C. § 1607. Under 18 U.S.C. § 983(a)(2), the owner must file a claim with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Attention: Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures (FPF) Officer, U.S. CBP FPF OFFICE, 7501 ESTERS BLVD, SUITE 160, IRVING, TX, 75063. If the claim does not include the correct information, is not properly verified, or is not filed within the allotted time, then the property will be declared forfeited to the United States and disposed of in accordance with federal law.

Interdiction Squads of Dallas Police at Love Field Airport – Vist the website of the Dallas Police Department to learn more about the narcotics division and the Federal Task Force Units where officers with the Dallas Police Department work on a task force with CBP, HSI, ATF, or DEA. The Dallas Police Department uses narcotics officers and K-9 officers on Interdiction Squads who are assigned to seize money from travelers at Amtrax, bus terminals, and the Love Field Airport.

This article was last updated on Thursday, October 15, 2020.