Miami Sheriff Hired a Private Law Firm To Pursue—and Profit From—Asset Forfeiture Cases

Miami-Dade County’s use of a private law firm paid from forfeiture proceeds is being challenged in a case that could set a precedent for civil asset forfeiture in Florida. The businesses whose property was seized argue that the firm’s financial stake undermines due process and the neutrality expected in legal proceedings.

The dispute began last August, when the sheriff’s office seized $45 million from 16 mobile phone businesses and froze their bank accounts during an investigation into an alleged money-laundering scheme involving two Chinese nationals. Some $42.7 million belonged to SH Americas, which says it is South Florida’s largest authorised Samsung distributor. A circuit court rejected the businesses’ request to disqualify the Coral Gables firm in April; the decision is now under appeal, with advocacy groups filing briefs on both sides of the legal debate.