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William Cowden is our firm’s lead counsel on all asset forfeiture and related matters. Mr. Cowden served as Chief of Asset Forfeiture at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Increasingly, state and federal agents and prosecutors pursue not just one’s liberty, the imposition of a corporate fine, or a debarment order, but also the confiscation and forfeiture of property. The government can seize and forfeit almost any asset obtained with the proceeds of unlawful activity or used to facilitate the commission of a criminal offense. Assets may be forfeited as a part of most financial crime convictions; they also may be forfeited through stand-alone civil forfeiture and administrative proceedings.
These non-criminal forfeiture cases are never typical: the government can forfeit property only because it is tied to criminal activity. Missteps made by property claimants may preclude their ability to challenge forfeiture cases and may expose property claimants to prosecution. We bring unparalleled experience in steering individuals through the complexities of the asset forfeiture process and the parallel prosecution actions available to federal and state prosecutors and investigators.
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