Empyreal, a money transport company, has filed a civil suit against the FBI and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, alleging that they illegally seized over a million dollars in cash that it was moving for marijuana dispensaries to financial institutions, CNN reports.
The Pennsylvania-based company alleges that its vehicles were pulled over by authorities over five times in 2021. The complaint accuses deputies of seizing cash during two of those incidents, taking “approximately $700,000 in legal currency from one of Empyreal’s vehicles,” as well as the driver’s cellphones and the vehicle itself.
Then, in December, deputies took another $350,000. Both times, the money was handed to the FBI. Empyreal drivers were also never given traffic citations when pulled over.
“Defendants know that Empyreal vehicles are transporting the cash proceeds of state-legal cannabis businesses and want to seize that money and forfeit it using civil forfeiture,” the lawsuit claims.
The complaint states that these searches and seizures are detrimental to Empyreal’s business, with the company halting its operations in San Bernardino County and losing customers. The company also no longer drives through Kansas. “Empyreal and its clients operate in full compliance with applicable state cannabis laws and all applicable federal and state money laundering compliance requirements,” the lawsuit states
The Department of Justice has responded to the lawsuit, saying that Empyreal doesn’t have any legal standing since it’s just a transport company. Empyreal filed for a restraining order as well, so it could continue functioning, but it was denied.
On Jan. 21, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus responded to a Los Angeles Times report on Empyreal’s initial accusations, writing that “over 80% of marijuana at dispensaries was grown illegally,” and “illegal cultivation sites have created quality-of-life issues for many of our county’s residents.”
