Opinion ID: 605
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Property Forfeiture

Text: After the jury returned its verdict as to the criminal charges, the government sought forfeiture of the Sabhnani's home pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 1594 and 982(a)(6)(A). Section 1594 provides, in relevant part: (d) The court, in imposing sentence on any person convicted of [an involuntary servitude offense] shall order, in addition to any other sentence imposed and irrespective of any provision of State law, that such person shall forfeit to the United States (1) such person's interest in any property, real or personal, that was used or intended to be used to commit or to facilitate the commission of such violation 23.... (e)(1) The following shall be subject to forfeiture to the United States and no property right shall exist in them: (A) Any property, real or personal, used or intended to be used to commit or to facilitate the commission of any violation of this chapter. Section 982(a)(6)(A) further provides: The court, in imposing sentence on a person convicted of a violation of, or conspiracy to violate [ inter alia, the harboring offense] ... if committed in connection with passport or visa issuance or use, shall order that the person forfeit to the United States, regardless of any provision of State law . . . (ii) any property real or personal ... (II) that is used to facilitate, or is intended to be used to facilitate, the commission of the offense of which the person is convicted. Pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 32.2(b)(1), the district court determined that the entire house, including Mahender's attached office, was subject to forfeiture. After being charged, the jury deliberated and found as to both defendants that the government had proven by a preponderance of the evidence that the house was used to facilitate the commission of each of the crimes of which the Sabhnanis had been convicted. Mahender raises two challenges to the forfeiture. First, he argues that the government did not prove that his office, which is annexed to the house, was used to facilitate the commission of the crimes and thus was subject to forfeiture. Second, he argues that the forfeiture of his interest in the home was grossly disproportionate to his culpability in the underlying crimes, and thus violated the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment. We review de novo a district court's legal conclusions regarding forfeiture. United States v. Capoccia, 503 F.3d 103, 109 (2d Cir.2007). We review its factual conclusions for clear error. United States v. Gaskin, 364 F.3d 438, 462 (2d Cir.2004).
Mahender makes two points with regard to the forfeiture of his office. First, he argues that the jury was improperly instructed that the forfeiture statutes allow for forfeiture of property even if only part of the property was used to commit or facilitate the crimes. Second, he argues that his office was outside the scope of the applicable forfeiture statutes because it was not part of the actual property used to commit or to facilitate the Sabhnanis' offenses. Mahender's Br. 83. We, like the district court, reject the premise of Mahender's argument specifically that the office is a separate piece of property from the house itself and that the district court therefore should have determined separately whether it was subject to forfeiture. The office is not detached or separate from the house, and it is not separately owned; nor does it have a separate address. United States v. Sabhnani, 566 F.Supp.2d 148, 156-57 (E.D.N.Y.2008) (district court's forfeiture opinion). There is no separation of the office from the main house, as it is accessible directly from a kitchen within the house. The only evidence in the record that would arguably support the contention that the office is separate property is Deborah Litras's statement that the office is accessible via a separate entrance from the outside of the residence. Litras went on to testify, however, however, that the office can be accessed from the house by a single door. The district court did not err, therefore, in submitting to the jury the question whether the house as a whole was subject to forfeiture. Even if we accepted Mahender's invitation to subdivide the parts of the Sabhnanis' house and determine whether each of them was separately subject to forfeiture, moreover, we have no difficulty concluding that the office was used or intended to be used to commit or to facilitate the commission of the crimes. 18 U.S.C. § 1594(d)(1). Under Fed. R.Crim.P. 32.2, the court may determine whether a property is subject to forfeiture based on evidence already in the record, Fed.R.Crim.P. 32.2(b)(1)(B), including testimony at the earlier trial. The testimony at trial establishing that Samirah and Enung cleaned the bathroom of the office on Mahender's instructions, washed the office floor, and served Mahender drinks in the office, demonstrates that some of the labor the maids were forced to do took place in the office. Moreover, because the maids were concealed within the residence and they entered the office on occasion, the office was also used to conceal them in violation of the harboring statute. Consequently Mahender's office was used to commit the crimes at issue, and it was properly included in the forfeiture.
Mahender next argues that forfeiture of his entire interest in his home is in gross disproportion to his role in the crimes, in violation of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of excessive fines. U.S. Const. amend. VIII. In evaluating such a claim, we determine whether the forfeiture is grossly disproportional to the gravity of a defendant's offense. United States v. Bajakajian, 524 U.S. 321, 334, 118 S.Ct. 2028, 141 L.Ed.2d 314(1998). [19] We do so by considering (1) the harshness ... of the forfeiture in comparison to the gravity of the offense, giving due regard to (a) the offense committed and its relation to other criminal activity, (b) whether the claimant falls within the class of persons for whom the statute was designed, (c) the punishments available, and (d) the harm caused by the claimant's conduct; (2) the nexus between the property and the criminal offenses, including the deliberate nature of the use and the temporal and spatial extent of the use; and (3) the culpability of each claimant. von Hofe v. United States, 492 F.3d 175, 186 (2d Cir.2007) (citing Bajakajian, 524 U.S. at 337-40, 118 S.Ct. 2028). The district court, in rejecting Mahender's constitutional challenge, found that the essence of the defendants' crimes was the harboring [of] illegal aliens and forcing them to perform domestic labor. Sabhnani, 566 F.Supp.2d at 155. The court determined that the Sabhnanis were clearly within the class of persons for whom the statutes at issue were designed, and that the statutes carried with them the possibility of severe punishment and large fines. Id. The trial testimony demonstrated, moreover, that the crimes of the defendants, all of which took place within the Sabhnani residence, caused great harm to the victims. Id. Relying on von Hofe, Mahender argues on appeal that because he was less culpable for the crimes than was Varsha, the forfeiture of his interest in their jointly-owned home was excessive. In von Hofe, a husband and wife were convicted of state law offenses related to the growing of 65 marijuana plants in their shared residence, and the federal government thereafter sought forfeiture of the home. von Hofe, 492 F.3d at 179. The only crime to which Mrs. von Hofe pled guilty was possession of a controlled substance under Connecticut state law, while her husband pled guilty to manufacturing and distributing such substances. Id. We agreed with the district court that forfeiture of the husband's interest in the home did not violate his rights under the Excessive Fines Clause, id. at 186, but we reversed the forfeiture judgment as to his wife, id. at 188. Stating that Mrs. von Hofe bore minimal blame for the criminal activity that occurred at the house, we noted that there was no evidence in the record of her use of drugs or involvement in any way in the growing of the marijuana. Id. Indeed, there was no evidence that she even knew that marijuana was being trafficked out of her home. Id. at 188-89 We find von Hofe easily distinguishable. As we have already discussed, the trial testimony is clear that Mahender both knew of the criminal conduct taking place inside his residence and participated in it. This distinguishes von Hofe, in which we found it significant to her level of culpability that Mrs. von Hofe neither knew of the drug trafficking nor in any way encouraged or promoted it. Id. at 188. In United States v. Collado, 348 F.3d 323 (2d Cir.2003), we rejected a constitutional challenge to a forfeiture action against a building owner who was willfully blind to the drug trafficking taking place in her building. Collado, 348 F.3d at 327-28. Suffice it to say that if willful blindness is a sufficient level of culpability to justify a property forfeiture, Mahender's willful participation in the crimes taking place in his home fully supports the forfeiture judgment here. See also United States v. Milbrand, 58 F.3d 841, 848 (2d Cir.1995) (forfeiture of mother's interest in farm on which son conducted marijuana trafficking was not excessive because evidence demonstrated that she must have known of criminal conduct taking place there). Given the evidence on which the jury relied to convict Mahender of the underlying criminal charges, there was nothing grossly disproportionate about the forfeiture of his interest in the house, and thus the forfeiture did not violate the Excessive Fines Clause.