The Asset Forfeiture Program has three primary goals: (1) to punish and deter criminal activity by depriving criminals of property used or acquired through illegal activities; (2) to enhance cooperation among foreign, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies through the equitable sharing of assets recovered through this program; and, as a by-product, (3) to produce revenues in support of future law enforcement investigations and related forfeiture activities. A number of federal law enforcement organizations participate in the AFF, including USMS, which serves as the primary custodian of seized and forfeited property for the program. See figure 1 for the Asset Forfeiture Program participants. DOJ’s Asset Forfeiture Management Staff (AFMS) is part of DOJ’s Justice Management Division and is responsible for managing and overseeing all financial aspects of the AFF, review and evaluation of asset forfeiture program activities, internal controls and audit functions, information systems, and other administrative functions related to the fund. The Asset Forfeiture Money and Laundering Section (AFMLS) is part of DOJ’s Criminal Division and is responsible for legal aspects of the program, including civil and criminal litigation and providing legal advice to the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices. AFMLS is responsible for establishing the Asset Forfeiture Program’s policies and procedures, coordinating multidistrict asset seizures, acting on petitions for remission in judicial forfeiture cases, and coordinating international forfeiture and sharing. AFMLS also oversees the AFF’s equitable sharing program. United States Attorneys’ Offices (USAO) are responsible for the prosecution of both criminal and civil actions against property used or acquired during illegal activity. USMS serves as the primary custodian of seized property for the Asset Forfeiture Program. USMS manages and disposes of the majority of the valued property seized for forfeiture. In serving as the primary custodian of the majority of assets managed by the fund, USMS manages all valued assets that are not considered evidence, contraband, or targeted for use by individual law enforcement agencies. ATF enforces the federal laws and regulations relating to alcohol, tobacco, firearms, explosives, and arson by working directly and in cooperation with other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. While USMS is the primary custodian over valued assets, ATF maintains custody over assets seized under its authority, including firearms, ammunition, explosives, alcohol, and tobacco. DEA implements major investigative strategies against drug networks and cartels. DEA maintains custody over narcotics and other seized contraband. The FBI investigates a broad range of criminal violations, integrating the use of asset forfeiture into its overall strategy to eliminate targeted criminal enterprises. There are several agencies outside the Department of Justice that also participate in the DOJ Asset Forfeiture Program. Non-DOJ participants include the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Inspector General, the Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, and the Department of Defense Criminal Investigative Service. There are two types of forfeiture: administrative and judicial, and they differ in a number of ways, including (1) the point in the proceeding, generally at which the property may be seized; (2) the burden of proof necessary to forfeit the property; and (3) in some cases, the type of property interests that can be forfeited. Administrative forfeiture allows for property to be forfeited without judicial involvement. Although property may be seized without any judicial involvement, seizures performed by federal agencies must be based on probable cause. In administrative forfeitures, the government initiates a forfeiture action and will take ownership of the property provided that no one steps forward to contest the forfeiture. Specifically, the administrative forfeiture procedure requires that those with an interest in the property be notified and given an opportunity to request judicial forfeiture proceedings. See below for an example of an administrative forfeiture. Example of Administrative Forfeiture DEA initiated a task force investigation into a drug-trafficking organization. Task force officers received information from a confidential source that the drug-trafficking organization was using a van with hidden compartments to transport methamphetamine and drug proceeds, and a drug detection dog gave a positive alert to the presence of drugs in the van. Officers obtained and executed a search warrant on the vehicle, which resulted in the discovery and seizure of 149 kilograms of cocaine and $1,229,785 in U.S. currency. Because no party filed a claim contesting the forfeiture, the currency was administratively forfeited by DEA pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1609. Judicial forfeiture, both civil and criminal, is the process by which property may be forfeited to the United States by filing a forfeiture action in federal court. In civil forfeiture, the action is against the property and thus does not require that the owner of the property be charged with a federal offense. The government must only prove a connection between the property and the crime. By contrast, criminal forfeiture requires a conviction of the defendant before property is subject to forfeiture. Example of Civil Forfeiture After obtaining a search warrant, agents searched a residence and the adjoining land on a 50-acre farm. Agents found firearms and ammunition, along with 60 pounds of processed marijuana. Agents also found approximately 4,000 marijuana plants growing outside in the adjacent field, along with approximately 2,500 plants being processed. While the owner of the farm will be subject to prosecution, because the land was used for illegal activities, a separate civil forfeiture action was filed against the property. The farm where the marijuana plants were located was seized and will be forfeited under civil forfeiture proceedings. Example of Criminal Forfeiture According to the United States Attorney, two Philadelphia-based corporations operated an Internet enterprise that facilitated interstate prostitution activities. The defendants allegedly developed and operated an Internet website and created an online network for prostitutes, escort services, and others to advertise their illegal activities to consumers and users of those services. The case was investigated by state police, FBI, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations Division. The investigation found that defendants received fees in the form of money orders, checks, credit card payments, and wire transfers from users of the website. The funds the defendants allegedly received were the proceeds of violations of federal laws prohibiting interstate travel in aid of racketeering enterprises, specifically prostitution, and aiding and abetting such travel. The money-laundering conspiracy charge alleges that the defendants engaged in monetary transactions in property of a value greater than $10,000 derived from those unlawful activities. The defendants entered guilty pleas to the money-laundering conspiracy charge and agreed to serve a probation term of 18 months and to pay a $1,500,000 fine. In addition, under the terms of the plea agreement, the defendants agreed to the criminal forfeiture of $4.9 million in cash derived from the unlawful activity, as well as forfeiture of the domain name, all of which represent property used to facilitate the commission of the offenses. The asset forfeiture process involves a number of key steps, including necessary planning in advance of the seizure, seizing and taking custody of the asset, notifying interested parties, addressing any claims and petitions, and equitable sharing with state and local law enforcement agencies. According to DOJ, enhancing cooperation among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies is one goal of the equitable sharing program. For more information on how agencies qualify for equitable sharing, see appendix I. From fiscal years 2003 through 2011, AFF revenues and expenditures increased, with annual revenues doubling in fiscal year 2006, due in part to an increase in forfeitures resulting from fraud and financial crimes investigations. DOJ estimates anticipated revenues and expenditures based on prior years’ trends and then carries over funds to help cover operational expenses and other liabilities in the next fiscal year, including reserves needed for pending equitable sharing and third-party payments. However, the transparency of DOJ’s process for carrying over these funds could be enhanced. Once all expenses have been accounted for and unobligated funds deemed necessary for next year’s expenses have been carried over to the next fiscal year, DOJ then reserves funds to cover annual rescissions. In the 9-year period from fiscal years 2003 through 2011, AFF revenues totaled $11 billion, growing from $500 million in fiscal year 2003 to $1.8 billion in fiscal year 2011. Since 2006, an increase in the prosecution of fraud and financial crime cases has led to substantial increases in AFF revenue.involved the misappropriation of funds by the founder of a television cable company, Adelphia Communications, and resulted in over $700 million in forfeited assets. As a result of the increase in forfeitures resulting from money laundering and financial crimes investigations, in 2006, revenues doubled those of previous years, and for the first time in the AFF’s history, total annual revenues grew above $1 billion to approximately $1.2 billion. Since 2006, the AFF’s annual revenues have remained above $1 billion, For example, a money laundering case in fiscal year 2007 with the highest revenues of $1.8 billion reported in 2011.shows the fund’s revenue growth over time from fiscal years 2003 through 2011. Moreover, according to DOJ officials, in addition to an increase in the prosecution of fraud and financial crime cases, the increase in revenues can also be attributed to an overall increase in the number of forfeiture cases together with higher-value forfeitures. Across all fiscal years, forfeited cash income constituted 76 percent or more of the AFF’s revenue sources. Forfeited cash income includes cash/currency, as well as financial instruments such as money orders, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, and shares of stock. The second, and much smaller, source of revenue is the sale of forfeited property including automobiles, boats, airplanes, jewelry, and real estate, among others.