United States v. Valdez, No. 17-10446 (9th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's forfeiture order against defendant after she had pleaded guilty to attempted smuggling of ammunition from the United States into Mexico. Although the ammunition was subject to forfeiture, defendant had caused it to be transferred to a third party. The panel held that the district court properly ordered forfeiture of substitute property under 28 U.S.C. 2461(c) and 21 U.S.C. 853(p). In this case, defendant's acts and omissions caused the ammunition to be transferred to a third party and the forfeiture of $1,235 in the form of a money judgment was proper.
Court Description: Criminal Forfeiture. The panel affirmed the district court’s order of forfeiture of $1,235 in the form of a money judgment against a defendant who pleaded guilty to attempted smuggling of ammunition from the United States into Mexico. The panel held that the government properly sought criminal forfeiture because 18 U.S.C. § 924(d) authorizes civil forfeiture of property, and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c) permits the government to seek criminal forfeiture whenever civil forfeiture is available and the defendant pleads guilty to the offense giving rise to the forfeiture. The panel held that § 2461(c) authorizes the forfeiture of substitute property because 21 U.S.C. § 853(p), the substitute- property provision in the statute that authorizes forfeiture in connection with certain federal drug offenses, is one of the 21 U.S.C. § 853 “procedures” incorporated by reference in § 2461(c). The panel held that the district court properly ordered the defendant to forfeit substitute property pursuant to § 853(p) because the defendant’s acts and omissions caused the ammunition to be transferred to a third party. UNITED STATES V. VALDEZ 3
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