Where the government initiated criminal-forfeiture proceedings against the cash from a defendant’s bedroom, a judgment in favor of the government should be affirmed with respect to $92,470 found in a safe and shoebox at the defendant’s house but reversed with respect to $20,220 found in and on his dresser.
“Storing tens of thousands of dollars in a shoebox is seldom a good idea. Dealing drugs illegally never is. Brian Dewayne Darden-Mosby did both, earning himself two federal convictions. What’s more, the government seized over a quarter million dollars from him. Mosby now wants his money back, but most of his arguments don’t cash out. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
“As part of a broader investigation, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) special agents executed a search warrant for Brian Dewayne Darden-Mosby’s house and car. In Mosby’s bedroom, agents discovered an unregistered firearm, a money counter, drug ledgers, marijuana, and a backpack containing 13.6 grams of cocaine. Agents also seized $112,690 in cash found on top of Mosby’s dresser, stashed away in the dresser drawers, in a shoebox, and in a bedroom safe. Nala, a DEA canine, detected narcotics residue on the money in the safe and shoebox, but not the money in and on the dresser.
“Start with the cash seized at Mosby’s house. Mosby must forfeit the money if the government can connect it to his crimes by a preponderance of the evidence. In making this showing, the government may rely on any ‘relevant and reliable’ evidence. Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(b)(1)(B). Mosby can counter with evidence of his own to show the government can’t prove the money had illegitimate sources or uses. ... Here, the government did not meet its burden as to the $20,220 found in and on the dresser. But it did for the money found in the safe and the shoebox.
“In response, Mosby offers various explanations for the $112,690 cash in his room. He concedes that up to $14,000 of that money came from drugs, but he argues the remaining cash has legitimate sources and uses. While his evidence sufficiently undercuts the government’s case as to the dresser money, it fails to tip the scale for the safe and shoebox cash.
“In sum, while Mosby offered one plausible source for the safe and shoebox money (the lawsuit checks), he offers no evidence connecting that income to the cash. And he provides no evidence that he withdrew over $90,000 in cash in the months leading up to his arrest. But even if he could, he doesn’t offer a legitimate use for that much cash. Nor does he undermine the government’s evidence that he planned to use the money for drug trafficking. Accordingly, the government has satisfied its burden for the forfeiture of the $92,470 found in Mosby’s safe and shoebox.
“We affirm the district court’s criminal-forfeiture order with respect to the $92,470 found in the safe and shoebox at Mosby’s house. But we reverse with respect to the $20,220 found in and on the dresser.”
United States v. Darden-Mosby; MiLW 01-108002, 11 pages; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; Thapar, J., joined by Cole, J., Clay, J.; on appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan at Grand Rapids; Alvin L. Keel for appellant; Austin J. Hakes for appellee.
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