Opinion ID: 4017397
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Criminal Search Warrant

Text: On December 19, 2008, the day after Jahedi’s attempted destruction of documents, the FBI sought, obtained, and executed a criminal search warrant for the offices of Alavi and 650 Fifth Ave. Co. Magistrate Judge Theodore Katz issued the two‐page warrant, which referenced supporting “[a]ffidavit(s) . . . made before me by Special Agent George Ennis that he has reason to believe that [listed property] is now being concealed” at the addresses specified to be searched. App’x 5140. In boilerplate language, the warrant stated that the magistrate judge was “satisfied that there is probable cause to believe that the property so described is being concealed” on the premises and that “the grounds for application for issuance of the search warrant exist as stated in the supporting affidavit(s).” App’x 5140. It then authorized the FBI to search and seize: 1. Any and all . . . documents or records concerning or relating to the ownership of, rental of, mortgaging of, or investing in [Assa, 650 Fifth Ave. Co., or Bank Melli Iran.] 2. Any and all documents concerning or relating to financial books and records, bank accounts, disbursements, money transfers or employment records of [Assa, 650 Fifth Ave. Co., Alavi, or Bank Melli Iran] or any of the officers and employees of these entities. 3. Any and all computers; central processing units; external and internal drives; external and internal storage equipment or media; computerized data storage devices; hard disks or floppy 31 disks; CD‐ROMs[;] . . . and related or connected computer or data storage equipment. App’x 5141. The warrant does not identify the crimes for which agents were authorized to search or seize the listed property. Nor does the warrant place any temporal limit on the property to be seized. The twelve‐paragraph Ennis affidavit supporting the warrant described the history of Alavi, including the tax issue that led to the formation of 650 Fifth Ave. Co. Moreover, unlike the search warrant, the Ennis affidavit stated that the property sought constituted evidence of, among other crimes, violations of the IEEPA, the ITRs, and 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956, 1957. It explained as follows: In 1999, [OFAC] identified Bank Melli and its offices worldwide as entities “owned or controlled by the Government of Iran.” 31 C.F.R. Part 560, App. A. Accordingly, Bank Melli is subject to the Iranian Transactions Regulations (“ITR”), Title 31 United States Code of Federal Regulations, Part 560, and Assa Co.’s interest in the Building and its rents is subject to civil forfeiture, as fully set forth in [the attached December 17, 2008 civil Complaint] . . . . [A]lthough the property and funds which are subject to forfeiture belong to Bank Melli and its related entities, the transactions underlying Bank Melli’s acquisition of its interest in the Building [were] not an arms‐length transaction with Alavi, but rather [were] structure[d] both to evade Alavi’s tax liability and to conceal Bank Melli’s interest in the Building. Accordingly, I submit 32 that there is probable cause to believe that Alavi committed the same crimes alleged as a basis for the forfeiture sought in [the original Complaint], and that Alavi and its directors, employees, and other agents, committed, conspired to commit, and aided and abetted the same violations by Alavi and Bank Melli, among others. App’x 5145–46. The warrant was executed on Claimants’ offices the day it was obtained. The FBI seized nearly all computers, servers, and electronic storage devices found therein, along with over two hundred boxes of papers, records, and other tangible materials, some documents dating back thirty years.