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Topic: Follow the Bitcoins taken from me by Homeland Security (Read 12598 times)

hero member
Activity: 910
Merit: 502
This is confusingly agitating since this has been a ridiculous case (or I may be just confused). I do not have much knowledge on laws and stuff, especially in America, but from what I read, bitcoin has already been considered a 'money transfer business' instead of a virtual proprietary or something.

I'm sorry to hear your loss. It broke my heart that you still have a young daughter to take care of and they would just seize a majority of your asset.
hero member
Activity: 826
Merit: 1000
What a travesty, I'm really sorry for your loss. I have to echo many posts here and say i'm so glad i'm not in America and these rediculous cases are few and far between in Europe.
sr. member
Activity: 334
Merit: 250
wow this is a saddened story, i really felt for the lost..but really extra carefulness should be taken,keeping money save and secure...which could be strong security level...
legendary
Activity: 2646
Merit: 1136
All paid signature campaigns should be banned.
Here are the 186 ($42,222.00 as of this posting) Bitcoins taken from me by Homeland Security:

https://blockchain.info/address/1Eu38i1DkRAPAJhSqbseVroJDpMRfJbAx3

I am sure you guys can come up with some creative, interesting, fun ideas to do with this information.

wow really? why did they take it?
i feel bad for op he needs help right now how did they get access
to your account op?

From my infamous thread "BurtW arrested"

i doubt the government will return assets they seized .. they are probably holding the bitcoins 'in rem'

Were his Bitcoins taken? Was he somehow forced to reveal passwords?

Did they prohibit you from discussing the methods of confiscation?
On the day I was arrested at my client's office in front of my client and all my co-workers they did not have to tell me why I was being arrested - sealed arrest warrant.
That same day they searched our house and did not have to tell us what they were looking for - sealed search warrant.
After being arrested in front of my client, which was a nice touch as they immediately terminated our contract, they took me to our house.  I was taken aback by the number of cars so I made a point of counting them, 22.
The neighbors who watched the whole thing but failed to take any video (darn) counted up to 35 agents involved in the search.
They were very thorough even searching the entire attic and crawl space, every book, etc.  It took my wife weeks to get the house put back together.  Imagine up to 35 people searching you house for hours, they had the manpower and time to search just about everywhere.
During the search they got into my safe containing all of my physical Bitcoins and other Bitcoin related stuff.
Since I was not doing anything wrong I never expected to be shaken down in this way.  
My security threat profile was common burglary and my main concern was making sure my wife would be able to sell the Bitcoins in the event of my death.  So, the the vast majority of my Bitcoins were kept in a Trezor Bitcoin safe with the seed words kept off-site.
After searching my house for many hours and not finding what they were looking for, but taking every computer and electronic memory device they could get their hands on, they phoned in a search warrant for my office, which was granted.
Upon searching my office they found my off-site paper backup of the seed words for the Trezor which were there with retrieval instruction in the case of my death.  They took all of our corporate computers and left.
The rest is, as they say, history.

Food for thought:  my attorney informed me that they can and sometime do put people in jail until they turn over a password.  So in reality your passwords are only as safe as your willingness to spend time in jail over them.  After spending 3 days and 2 nights in solitary confinement (in the SHU at the federal detention center) I can tell you that most people will crack in pretty short order.  It is boring beyond comprehension.

Part of the total cost shown on my wife's web site ($284,373.00) was the cost of replacing all of the computers and cell phones we needed in order for our business to keep operating.  Of course once we get all the computers back we will then have more computers and phones than we know what to do with.  Anyone want to buy a used computer that was under government control for nine months?
hero member
Activity: 1232
Merit: 503
Here are the 186 ($42,222.00 as of this posting) Bitcoins taken from me by Homeland Security:

https://blockchain.info/address/1Eu38i1DkRAPAJhSqbseVroJDpMRfJbAx3

I am sure you guys can come up with some creative, interesting, fun ideas to do with this information.

wow really? why did they take it?
i feel bad for op he needs help right now how did they get access
to your account op?
hero member
Activity: 532
Merit: 501
This is so sad. I mean for starers I believe you acquired the money through hard work from posting and it is unfair that department of homeland security can take money away from a person for no reason.
legendary
Activity: 3024
Merit: 1640
lose: unfind ... loose: untight
But thank god that you have not been thrown in to jail at least.

Thank you sir ... can I please have another!!

sr. member
Activity: 288
Merit: 250
This is disgusting, what else can I say. I am sorry BurtW that this has happened to you and thanks God I don't live anymore in the US, the land of free, the land of opportunity(this I say with the highest degree of irony, of course).

I hope you will get back in your feet somehow. I surely hop you are not done with Bitcoin. I also wish that you fight those a**holes with the best attorneys possible, unfortunately I don't see how this will be possible when you are essentially going against the government.

Good luck!
Yeah, I feel for him too, that just really sucks. Some people who use bitcoins use them legally so, I do not see the problem with using bitcoins.
legendary
Activity: 3080
Merit: 1500
That is really sad news. But thank god that you have not been thrown in to jail at least. You are free to stay with your family. Only your hard earned fortune is gone.

I hope you will soon recover the mental trauma of loosing so much money. Wish you best of luck brother!
legendary
Activity: 2646
Merit: 1136
All paid signature campaigns should be banned.

Too bad all of the coins are going to be sold in a single block... However:

Quote
Civil Forfeiture Action: As a matter of policy, the USMS extends
the purchase restrictions of a criminal case to any person whose
conduct gave rise to a civil forfeiture of the property or to anyone
acting in concert with or on behalf of, such a person.

I don't think you'd be able to buy some back even if your part was sold in one block (if I'm correctly understanding this). Or maybe the rule they apply to you is:

Quote
Bitcoin Transfer. The USMS will not transfer any bitcoins until it has confirmed receipt of purchase funds from the buyer. The USMS will not transfer bitcoins to an [...] hostile to the United States
All criminal charges against me were dropped.

All civil charges against the Bitcoins (and all the other seized property) were dropped.

They just kept the 186 BTC as part of their agreement to drop all criminal charges against me and all the civil charges against all the property they seized - including the Bitcoins.  So, if I had the $1.5M+ to bid on this I could.
legendary
Activity: 1512
Merit: 1009

Too bad all of the coins are going to be sold in a single block... However:

Quote
Civil Forfeiture Action: As a matter of policy, the USMS extends
the purchase restrictions of a criminal case to any person whose
conduct gave rise to a civil forfeiture of the property or to anyone
acting in concert with or on behalf of, such a person.

I don't think you'd be able to buy some back even if your part was sold in one block (if I'm correctly understanding this). Or maybe the rule they apply to you is:

Quote
Bitcoin Transfer. The USMS will not transfer any bitcoins until it has confirmed receipt of purchase funds from the buyer. The USMS will not transfer bitcoins to an [...] hostile to the United States
legendary
Activity: 3010
Merit: 1031
RIP Mommy
https://blockchain.info/tags

"Stolen under color of law"
sr. member
Activity: 619
Merit: 252
Wtf man. Now am happy am not americ an
legendary
Activity: 2646
Merit: 1136
All paid signature campaigns should be banned.
legendary
Activity: 1148
Merit: 1048
Civil asset forfeiture is a hot topic right now, it's total bullshit.  Unfortunately here in California we just had a promising reform bill shot down by misrepresentation from the law enforcement lobbies.  Most of the California forfeit cases deal with cannabis cultivation.

it is the advertising on the internet and the doing "business" with the general public that allows them to come in and seize your property.
The scary thing is, when you get to looking at civil asset forfeiture, they really don't need any reason to take your stuff, you do not need to be accused or convicted of a crime, and you have no recourse to get it back.

I have researched your story a bit and I'm so sorry you are experiencing this bullshit man. Asset forfeiture is a serious injustice in the states due to the utter lack of due process surrounding it, I've seen this before in marijuana cultivation busts where licensed growers still have vast amounts of property seized "pending investigation", sometimes even going as far to remove the kids from the home. Our household will keep you in our prayers, keep your head up. 

And our government will waste resources investigating this man instead of the hyper corrupt banking officials that actually have victims for their crimes (the American public). Why don't they send some guys with wires into a board meeting?

This is bullshit man, again I'm so sorry you had to deal with this.
legendary
Activity: 2646
Merit: 1136
All paid signature campaigns should be banned.
Good news for Homeland Security and the Justice Department!  Today the BTC they took from me are now worth $84,845.22 so they have doubled their money!  Their investment strategy (take and hold) is working for them.
full member
Activity: 167
Merit: 100
Here are the 186 ($42,222.00 as of this posting) Bitcoins taken from me by Homeland Security:

https://blockchain.info/address/1Eu38i1DkRAPAJhSqbseVroJDpMRfJbAx3

I am sure you guys can come up with some creative, interesting, fun ideas to do with this information.
If the wallet is kept constantly under surveillance, sooner or later there will be some movement. Somebody clerk will be greedy. Such is their nature. Then it can pick up noise about misuse (manipulation) of evidence materyali. As far as I understand, your coins are taken as such.
legendary
Activity: 3010
Merit: 1031
RIP Mommy
The Bitcoins taken from me by Homeland Security (plus some dust given to Homeland Security by the Bitcoin community) are still just sitting here:

https://blockchain.info/address/1Eu38i1DkRAPAJhSqbseVroJDpMRfJbAx3

But there was some really good news today.  The justice department ended the practice of "equitable sharing"

https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.13399046

This is great news for the country in general but bad for me personally.

Under the nefarious equitable sharing program my local Sheriff's department was slated to receive up to 80% of the funds taken from me once my Bitcoins were auctioned off.

I had hoped to argue that since my family was the only victim in the case the local sheriff should return to me his share of the take in the theft of my property as victim compensation.  That might have lead to the return of up to 80% of the funds taken from me.  However now that the equitable sharing program has been terminated I would have to argue the victim angle directly with Homeland Security and the Federal Justice Department.  More expensive and unlikely to work.
Bad news, the sheriffs that are all addicted to the "pennies from heaven" shared with them from the Federal asset forfeiture fund whined loud enough and "equitable sharing" was quietly reinstated.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/03/28/the-feds-have-resumed-a-controversial-program-that-lets-cops-take-stuff-and-keep-it/

(and others)

Good news is I can once again try and corner the sheriff in my county and ask him what he plans to do with the money taken from me.

Victims of persecution fund, 100% FAFF refunded to respective victims.
legendary
Activity: 2646
Merit: 1136
All paid signature campaigns should be banned.
Amusing "public notes". Was that the basis of what homeland charged you on? Dirty money, child porn and drug trading? If so, I'll laugh.
All the public notes were added after they took the bitcoins from me.  The only charge against me was 18-1960.
legendary
Activity: 938
Merit: 1002
Amusing "public notes". Was that the basis of what homeland charged you on? Dirty money, child porn and drug trading? If so, I'll laugh.
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