IRS Forced to Return $447,000 Wrongly Seized
Agency civil forfeiture policy abuse. T
he irs, better known for taking money than
for giving it back, is return- ing $447,000 seized in 2012 from a family business on Long Island. Rather than answer a lawsuit, the gov- ernment is admitting it had no evidence that the money seized had been involved in any criminal activity. The agency
grabbed the funds because Bi-County Distributors and its owners, the Hirsch family, made several cash deposits below the $10,000 level that automatically triggers bank notifi- cation of the trans- action. Bi-County is a distributor of candy and snacks to convenience stores on the island, a cash- intensive business. The pattern of banking transactions led federal authorities to suspect an attempt was afoot to evade detection and hide taxable income. So they seized the money by invoking civil for- feiture statutes. Civil forfeiture empow-
114 639
Number of IRS seizures in 2005.
Number of IRS seizures in 2012.
anyone has been charged with a crime. In a January settlement decree, the gov- ernment acknowledged that no one associated with the company had been charged with any related crime. The Hirsch family was represented in its lawsuit by the Institute for Justice, a Washington, D.C.-based group dedicated to reforming civil-for- feiture policies. Institute for Jus-
tice attorney Larry Salzman hailed the settlement, which returned all funds to Bi-County, as “a victory not only for the Hirsch broth- ers, but for property owners around the country.” The Institute reports IRS seizures
have ballooned in recent years, from 114 in 2005 to 639 in 2012. Federal author- ities say forfeiture is a major weapon in their war against illegal drugs. “Nobody in America
ers government agents to take possession of property they believe is connected to illegal activity, even before
should have to live through the nightmare we’ve experi- enced,” said Jeffrey Hirsch, the elder of three brothers who run Bi-County. “Civil forfeiture nearly destroyed our business.”
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