Unexplained Wealth Order and Civil Forfeiture
Governments around the world have passed laws that allow them to steal people’s money and other assets. If you are traveling across the country and you get stopped by law enforcement, they can seize any large sum of money without charging you for any crime. They will say this is drug money, and you have to go to court to get it back.
The original idea for civil forfeiture was a good thing. It has been used to restore money stolen by fraud and other schemes by corrupt politicians. Civil forfeiture targets cybercrime, fraud, and scams in high finance at Wall Street, and money laundering on a global scale. It enables police to have sufficient power to “return money to crime victims” in instances of swindling or fraud. Civil forfeiture laws were helpful in enabling authorities to seize and return swindled funds by the Bernard Madoff fraud.
Civil forfeiture should have been heavily regulated because it is very open to abuse. If law enforcement lacks morality, civil forfeiture can be used as a valuable tool to steal from people. I’ve written about Civil forfeiture before, and the problem is only getting worse.
I found four cases where people had their money stolen by dirty cops. In some cases, people lose a large part of their money because of large fees to lawyers. I’m glad the fourth guys beat the system and won:
A couple was driving from New York to Florida, and they were stopped by police because of a cracked windshield. During questioning, the officer decided that $32,000 cash in the van was “probably involved in criminal or drug-related activity,” seized it, and shared it with federal authorities under equitable sharing. The victim hired a lawyer to get back the seized money, who urged them to settle for half of the seized amount. After the lawyer’s fees, the victim got back only $7,000.
Matt Lee of Clare, Michigan, was driving to California with $2,500 cash when pulled over by police in Nevada, who seized almost all of the cash under suspicion that it was a “drug run.” Lee hired an attorney who took half as his fee, leaving Lee with only $1,130 remaining.
A New Yorker piece detailed abuses in Tenaha, Texas, where police would target out-of-state drivers using rental cars, often not issuing traffic tickets. Police sometimes ask stopped motorists to sign “roadside property waivers,” which, unless signed, threaten criminal charges unless valuables are handed over; the waivers say, in effect, that victims will not contest the seizure in exchange for not being arrested.
Javier Gonzalez was carrying $10,000 cash in a briefcase and got pulled over in Texas. Deputies handed Gonzalez a waiver that if he signed over the money and did not claim it later, he would not be arrested, but if he refused to sign the waiver, Gonzalez would be arrested for money laundering. Gonzalez signed the waiver, wondering if the officers were real “officers of the law” and wondering if he got robbed. He later sued the county, which lost and returned his cash plus paid him $110,000 in damages plus attorney’s fees.
The dollar amount of the Civil forfeiture is actually rather small. A 2020 study found that the median cash forfeiture in 21 states which track such data was $1,300. In low-income communities, the seizures are typically less than $500. Stealing money out of people’s wallets will only breed hatred for cops.
There is now a new angle of attack by governments called the Unexplained wealth Order (UWO). It is a type of court order issued by the government to compel the target to reveal the sources of their unexplained wealth. UWOs were first introduced in Britain by the Criminal Finances Act of 2017. Persons who fail to account are liable to have assets seized after an enforcement authority, such as the National Crime Agency (NCA), need to make an appeal to the High Court.
The power of UWOs in fighting money laundering lies in their reverse onus principle. Some drug lords have piles of money piled to the ceiling because they can’t put it in a bank. If they claim to be a farmer by trade, the courts would rule against them in a (UWO) case if they had $400 million in holdings. Gangster Al Capone was worth $100 million in today’s money, and perhaps as a joke, he claimed to be a used furniture dealer.
UWOs work fine on a large scale, but they can be dangerous on a small scale. A rich friend may give someone an expensive car. When the person goes to register it, the government may demand to know how he could afford such an expensive car. If his friend suddenly dies, the government gets a free car to auction off.
These open-act highway robberies by governments and local enforcement are just one more reminder that this place is not our true home. Any treasure on earth is very unlikely to survive the tribulation.
“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:20 ESV).
–Todd
Embracing Sorceries
Among the most telling signals that this is the time of the consummation of human history this side of Christ’s Second Advent are the developments wrapped in the following prophecy:
“Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts” (Revelation 9:21).
It’s this matter of “sorceries” that I would like to dwell upon here.
“Sorceries,” in this instance, is derived from the Greek pharmakeia. It has several meanings, including “witchcraft” and “poison or drugs.”
Early in history, the word pharmakeia, as referring to drugs, was thought to indicate poison. The level of dosage determined whether the poison was fatal. Of course, this is true. Too much can be deadly. We know people overdose many times, and some die, either by accidental or deliberate overdose.
This has caused some within religions to declare all modern pharmakeia, or pharmacy, as a sin.
I have a son who is a pharmacist, and, of course, I believe he and his fellow doctors of pharmacy do good, not evil. However, there is no arguing against the fact that it’s not only the illicit drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and others that are harming and even killing people, but it’s legitimate medicines that are doing the same in all too many cases.
Abuse of opioids has become so problematic, for example, that most state regulating boards have gone overboard, some believe, by keeping those who genuinely need help from getting appropriate meds. Pain-management clinics, for example, are heavily restricted from dispensing medications above certain dosages, etc.
One such medication is at the heart of the problem that has brought about this over-regulation. It is the drug said to be killing thousands in the United States—youths in particular. Fentanyl is a Chinese-produced drug for pain that was once used regularly but now is more or less banned here in America. I don’t know the cases in which it’s allowed to be used, but I presume there are some.
The lethality of this drug is exacerbated by the insane border policies of this presidential administration. Drug runners are practically running free in illegally flooding our southern border areas with fentanyl and other such powerful drugs. Cartels from the south continue to reap billions of dollars while killing our citizens with their drug trafficking.
One story frames the problem:
…Los Angeles County experienced a 1,280% spike in overdose deaths from fentanyl, according to a recent report from the county Department of Public Health.
In a joint statement, the LA County District Attorney’s Office (which regularly refuses to charge drug dealers) and the health department announced the creation of a working group to address the situation “through prevention, education and enforcement.”
The ‘enforcement’ part will, of course, mark a radical departure from DA George Gascón’s ‘catch-and-release’ policy when it comes to criminals.
According to the health department, there were 104 deaths in 2016 attributed to fentanyl, which ballooned to 1,662 in 2021.
According to City News Service, black residents had the highest overdose rate based on the population, at 30.6 per 100,000 residents. White residents are overdosing at a rate of 22.5 per 100,000, while Latinos are at 11.1 per 100,000 residents.
The overdoses also occurred much more frequently in less affluent areas – which came in at 38.4 deaths per 100,000 vs. 12.3 per 100,000.
“Fentanyl overdoses are a significant and growing public health problem across the United States and in [the county], across sociodemographic groups and geographic areas,” reads the report, which adds, “The increases among youth and the widening inequities between under-resourced and more affluent groups underscore the need to target prevention efforts to those at highest risk to decrease fentanyl overdoses and advance health equity in [LA County].” (“LA County Experiences 1,200% Increase in Fentanyl Overdose Deaths Over 5-Year Period,” Planet Today, 12/3/22)
Many observers, including yours truly, see this incursion as a direct invasion by the communist Chinese government as a concerted effort on behalf of the Marxist/socialist/globalist order to bring America to its knees. The fentanyl assault is no doubt from the mind of Satan, who is at work readying his Antichrist overlord to enter the stage of end-times history.
People, particularly the young, embrace this deadly drug through recreational use. According to God’s prophetic Word, the problem will become exponentially worse. A salient question is: Might the horrific level of drug use during the Tribulation be partly responsible for the “strong delusion” people will be sent, according to 2 Thessalonians chapter 3?
To avoid being a part of that era of earth-dwellers when such “sorceries” are embraced by the deluded masses, and instead be with the Lord Jesus Christ, here is what you must do now, while there is time before the Rapture or your own cessation of life:
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9–10).
*** Important Notice! ***
We have been introduced to a podcast we believe will give you inspiration and comfort during these prophetic times. Please make it a point to watch and listen to Watchman River Tom –a podcast we truly believe is Holy Spirit Directed as we who are believers look for our blessed hope (Titus 2:13).
Watch for links to these videos on a regular basis at Raptureready.com on our End Times News by Feature Writers and Contributors section.
We will post the Watchman River Tom 30-minute podcasts as frequently as Tom presents them.
Here is the title and link to the introductory video.
“We are Witnessing the Setup of the 7 Year Tribulation” https://youtu.be/uky4Fcny3jc
—Terry
—Terry