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Law Lets I.R.S. Seize Accounts on Suspicion, No Crime Required – The New York Times

ARNOLDS PARK, Iowa — For almost 40 years, Carole Hinders has dished out Mexican specialties at her modest cash-only restaurant. For just as long, she deposited the earnings at a small bank branch a block away — until last year, when two tax agents knocked on her door and informed her that they had seized…

ARNOLDS PARK, Iowa — For almost 40 years, Carole Hinders has dished out Mexican specialties at her modest cash-only restaurant. For just as long, she deposited the earnings at a small bank branch a block away — until last year, when two tax agents knocked on her door and informed her that they had seized her checking account, almost $33,000.

The Internal Revenue Service agents did not accuse Ms. Hinders of money laundering or cheating on her taxes — in fact, she has not been charged with any crime. Instead, the money was seized solely because she had deposited less than $10,000 at a time, which they viewed as an attempt to avoid triggering a required government report.

“How can this happen?” Ms. Hinders said in a recent interview. “Who takes your money before they prove that you’ve done anything wrong with it?”

The federal government does.

via www.nytimes.com

I've got a friend who is going through this right now. It's damned infuriating, and just another piece of evidence that the government has weaponized itself against the citizenry.

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Response to “Law Lets I.R.S. Seize Accounts on Suspicion, No Crime Required – The New York Times”

  1. W. Fleetwood

    Yes it’s infuriating, but it’s not new. The IRS has, from its inception, had the power to seize everything they can get their hands on and keep it on the basis of “Guilty until proven innocent, and all appeals exhausted, and our administrative protocols met.” The difference is that in the past this was usually used as a part of a much larger campaign of harassment against a targeted individual or group. Think Communist party member, KKK member, Colombo crime family member, and so on. The difference is that now (If you are not an employee of the Federal Government.) we are all targets.

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