Motley Rice has filed 'barrage of claims' for drug cartel victims; is there an endgame?
The Motley Rice law firm has filed a “barrage of claims” in federal courts for families of people killed by the Juarez cartel, arguing that their clients are entitled to a share of assets seized from drug dealers. (Image from Shutterstock)
The Motley Rice law firm has filed a “barrage of claims” in federal courts for families of people killed by the Juarez cartel, arguing that their clients are entitled to a share of assets seized from drug dealers, Bloomberg Law reports.
The claims stem from a $4.6 billion default judgment against the Juarez cartel obtained in North Dakota two years ago by the families of nine Americans murdered in Mexico.
Motley Rice is trying to collect by intervening in forfeiture cases across the country in which defendants have suspected links to the cartel, according to Bloomberg Law.
In one case, the families are seeking a share of $6 million seized by New York prosecutors from a money laundering defendant.
The families are arguing that a money laundering ring was an instrument of the Juarez cartel, entitling them to compensation under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. The law, passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, is intended to compensate terrorism victims.
According to Bloomberg Law, the cases filed by Motley Rice “have the potential to bring new scrutiny to the scope and purpose of federal forfeiture laws” that authorize the government to seize cash and assets from criminals. Although some money goes to victims, it typically is used to fund law enforcement and community programs.
New York prosecutors have opposed the firm’s forfeiture claims.
One of the government’s arguments is that there is no evidence that the forfeited assets are linked to the Juarez cartel. Another is that claimants don’t have standing to intervene in the forfeiture case.
The forfeiture process was intended “to protect the rights of bona fide owners of property,” said Stefan Cassella, a former federal prosecutor, in an interview with Bloomberg Law. “It’s not an opportunity for everybody to come in and say, ‘I don’t like that guy, he owes me money.’”
Eric Honig, another former federal prosecutor, also questioned whether the victims could collect forfeited funds.
“There’s no real provision of law for them,” Honig told Bloomberg Law. “They’re not an owner and not a lien holder and not the victim of the specific crime that the persons were convicted of.”
Motley Rice could be playing a long game, according to Bloomberg Law.
The “sheer volume of claims” filed by Motley Rice could be part of a plan to get appellate review of the issues if judges issue conflicting decisions.
Louis Rulli, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, sees another possible goal.
Motley Rice might be hoping to “raise the visibility of this issue” and put pressure on Congress to compensate victims if the court cases fail, Rulli told Bloomberg Law.
