I figure it most likely that if I want to see my $5k, I'll need to attempt to obtain it through the legal system of the US govt which holds directly $5M and can make a grab for another $5M from the probably scattered parties associated with Coinlabs. Anyone have any thoughts about what data I might solicit in order to pursue such an adventure?
If you want to do that, there are time limits on how long you can claim against a forfeiture. Get legal advice fast.
If you were to sue Mt. Gox in Delaware small claims court, and win (or they don't show up), you'd have a US judgement against them. (Mt. Gox created a legal presence in Delaware so they could register with FinCen. That provides an entity you can sue in Delaware.)
Then you can try to collect from funds the US Government is holding. According to Japanese law, if Mt. Gox is a Payment Services Agency, you own the money; you're not just a creditor of Mt. Gox. That puts you in a stronger position to claim against a forfeiture. Again, get legal advice.
I'd have to believe that the statute of limitations does not make it imperative that I file with all haste. And even if so, I partially wrote off these funds even before I instigated the wire.
The thing I value most are the identity documents I sent to Mt. Gox, so the best case scenario is that their operation is seized in total, and any former employees are scared shitless and not likely to attempt to sell said docs independently on the market.
The idea of getting a claim in in Delaware is actually a good one. As I mentioned before, it's not something which I'm willing to retain an attorney for due to the likely economics and general hassle. I would, however, be interested in a joint effort with similarly effected and situated parties to hire legally competent counsel to produce something of a general template that we could all use.
