Federal prosecutors report collecting $400M in criminal asset forfeiture funds last year

The federal prosecutors office that covers Long Island collected more than $400 million in asset forfeiture funds last year, making it the national leader in seizing assets allegedly procured through illegal activities, officials said Monday.

The Eastern District of New York, which includes Nassau and Suffolk counties, as well as Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, ranked first among the 93 federal prosecution districts in the country in fiscal year 2024.

"The forfeiture of criminal assets is an important tool used by law enforcement to deter crime and punish wrongdoers by depriving them of their ill-gotten gains," U.S. Attorney John J. Durham, of the Eastern District, said in a statement Monday. "To the extent possible, forfeited funds are used to compensate victims of crime."

One of the Eastern District’s largest forfeiture seizures in 2024 arose from the prosecution of Gunvor S.A., one of the largest commodities trading firms in the world, which pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with a scheme to bribe Ecuadorian officials in order to obtain oil purchasing contracts, federal prosecutors said in a press release.

Gunvor was ordered to forfeit more than $287 million "in ill-gotten gains," prosecutors said in the press release.

Law enforcement entities on the federal and state levels have long used asset forfeiture to seize cash and property that has allegedly been acquired through illegal activity.

Law enforcement has touted asset forfeiture as a crime deterrent that removes the profit incentive from the equation while also providing funding for law enforcement initiatives.

Critics have argued the system is ripe with abuse and has become a revenue stream relied upon by law enforcement agencies.

In 2023, Newsday reported that federal authorities were investigating how the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office used asset forfeiture funds in undercover money laundering operations during the administrations of ex-District Attorneys Thomas Spota and Timothy Sini.

As a result of the investigation, the district attorney’s office was prevented from accessing federal asset forfeiture funds that it had helped seize in conjunction with federal law enforcement entities.

Sini denied any wrongdoing under his leadership, saying federal authorities issued subpoenas in 2020 for documents dating back to 2003 — well before his administration — regarding money laundering investigations the district attorney's office did with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

In a statement Monday, Tania Lopez, a spokesperson for Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney, said the office is still suspended from participating in federal asset forfeiture programs.

"The Suffolk County District Attorney’s office remains suspended from both the DOJ’s Equitable Sharing program and Treasury Department Equitable Sharing program," Lopez said in an emailed statement. "These suspensions occurred on Sept. 21, 2020, under the prior DA Sini."

Lopez added that the office has sought unsuccessfully for readmission to the programs. "Under DA Tierney, the office has applied for reinstatement to these funding programs on multiple occasions," Lopez said. "We have been informed that the office will not be readmitted to these programs, however, while the federal criminal investigation of the forfeiture practices of the former administrations is still ongoing. DA Tierney has worked with Senator Schumer and Representatives Lalota and Garbarino, to urge the DOJ to resolve its investigation so that the 1.5 million people of Suffolk County can access this vital law enforcement funding."

The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office brought in $4.35 million in asset forfeiture in fiscal year 2024, said Nicole Turso, a spokesperson for Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly, in an email Monday.

Federal prosecutors say their asset forfeiture funds generally come from search warrants and forfeiture orders involving alleged transnational criminal organizations and drug cartels as well as financial fraud and political corruption.

"In certain circumstances, forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund can be used to compensate victims of crimes, and for a variety of law enforcement purposes," the eastern district said in its press release.

In May, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that derived from a case in Alabama that law enforcement entities do not have to provide initial hearings to those who have their cars or other property seized in drug crimes, The Associated Press reported. 

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.