New Orleans man gets nearly $30,000 returned to him after it was seized by DEA agents at the airport

According to a settlement agreement signed on Thursday, the federal government agreed to discontinue its civil recovery proceedings.

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents seized $ 28,180.00 from Kermit Warren’s money at Columbus Airport last November when Warren was traveling home after inspecting a tow truck he was about to buy for his scrapping business, according to a statement the Institute for Justice, a non-profit whose lawyers helped Warren reach an agreement on the case.

According to the Institute for Justice, Warren was never arrested or charged with a crime and the seizure “is based on vague innuendos and baseless allegations that the money is drug-related”.

The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio filed a civil foreclosure lawsuit in April to withhold the money on the grounds that “currency forfeited to the United States (…) is a controlled substance, revenue that attributed to, or was used, or should be used to facilitate a violation of 21 USC 841 or a conspiracy to commit such a crime, “the settlement reads.

After Warren’s attorneys documented the legitimate purpose of his trip and the legal sources of his money, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the case “with prejudice,” the press release said, meaning the case will not go to court or retrial is submitted.

Jennifer Thornton, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio, confirmed that the matter was settled by agreement of the parties, but made no further comments.

“I’m relieved to finally get my hard-earned savings back after a year of suffering,” Warren said in a statement. “But what happened to me was wrong. The officials and prosecutors treated me like a criminal when I was just trying to improve my business and my life. I fought for a year to survive a pandemic and a hurricane.” without my savings. I didn’t do anything wrong, but until the law is changed to protect everyone, I won’t have any cash left in my house. “

“The unconstitutional practices of the TSA and DEA” see cash, seize cash “must end to prevent further abuses like that of Kermit,” said Jaba Tsitsuashvili, prosecutor for the Institute of Justice. “Although Kermit gets his money back after a year of fighting, it will continue to happen to other leaflets until the agencies are forced to end their unconstitutional practices.”