Sunday, February 18, 2007

Guess the topic

I read this book when I was about 3. Does anyone else remember it? Or the lesson? Yep, time again for one of those tedious threads where you are asked why I think the story of Arty the Smarty is applicable to the stuff everybody loves to talk about these days. 'Course iffen you don't want to try you can always send the thread off in a different direction entirely. Maybe even a few trolls van test their skills against an admirable group who is learning fast that the trolls can gain no traction without a reaction.

10 comments:

R-Boy said...

in case this was missed, these guys just hit Casey

The Executive Office of Asset Forfeiture

he Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture (TEOAF) administers the Treasury Forfeiture Fund (TFF). The TFF was established in 1992 as the successor to what was then the Customs Forfeiture Fund. It is the receipt account for the deposit of non-tax forfeitures made by the following member agencies:

* Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI), U.S. Department of the Treasury;
* U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (U.S. ICE), Department of Homeland Security;
* U.S. Customs and Border Protection (U.S. CBP);
* Department of Homeland Security;
* U.S. Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security;
* U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security

The creation of the TFF brought together all then-Treasury law enforcement agencies. Although some bureaus were subsequently transferred to the Department of Homeland Security by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law No. 107-296), they remain participants of the Treasury Forfeiture Fund.

Effective law enforcement actions against criminal enterprises, from drug cartels to terrorist organizations, require depriving them of their enabling assets and profits that support or stem from their existence. The TFF is derived from the forfeited assets of criminal enterprises. The TFF is a “special receipt account”, i.e., a resource account that provides funding to the participating law enforcement agencies to enhance their capabilities to conduct successful investigations and forfeitures.

The Mission of The Treasury Forfeiture Fund is to Affirmatively Influence the Consistent and Strategic use of Asset Forfeiture by Participating Agencies to Disrupt and Dismantle Criminal Enterprises.

The Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture (TEOAF), through the provision of leadership, guidance, and stewardship, works to maximize the impact of forfeitures performed by the participating agencies.

As the administrator of the Treasury Forfeiture Fund, TEOAF performs the following functions:

* promotes the use of proceeds from asset forfeitures to fund programs and activities aimed at disruption and dismantling criminal infrastructures, in particular major case initiatives and activities enhancing forfeiture capabilities;
* manages TFF revenues to cover the costs of seizure and forfeiture;
* trains law enforcement personnel of the participating agencies in various aspects of asset forfeiture;
* promotes cooperation among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies through funding of expenses including equitable sharing, as well as the development of task forces;
* promotes financial stability and vitality of the TFF;
* coordinates TFF policy among the participating agencies;
* through the precepts of risk management, identifies and initiates action to address program risks.

The TFF’s enabling legislation was first published in Public law 102-393, enacted October 6, 1992, 106 Stat. 1729, and is codified under Title 31 U.S.C. § 9703.

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Asset Forfeiture Program administers a separate and distinct forfeiture fund. For information, visit the DOJ Asset Forfeiture Program

Forfeiture:

There are two types of forfeiture available to the government: civil forfeiture and criminal forfeiture. A civil forfeiture is intended to confiscate property used or acquired in violation of the law; a criminal forfeiture is imposed on a wrongdoer as part of his/her punishment following a conviction. The procedures involved in these two types of forfeiture are very different; however, the results are the same, which is the transfer of rights, title, and interest of the property to the United States. Whichever procedure is employed, a party asserting an interest in the property may petition to recover that interest.

Civil Forfeiture

The purpose of civil forfeiture is to confiscate property used in violation of the law and to remove the illegally gained profits from violators. Civil forfeitures are in rem. In rem refers to a legal action directed solely against the property based on a legal finding that the property itself is used in an illegal manner. An in rem proceeding is not an action against a violator, but against the property involved. In rem proceedings are separate legal actions from any criminal action taken against the violator.

There are two types of proceedings used for civil forfeiture: administrative and judicial. Administrative proceedings are conducted by the seizing agency while judicial proceedings are conducted in a court before a judge. The value and type of seized property and whether or not the forfeiture is contested determine the proceeding used. In general, if the property seized is valued at $500,000 or less civil administrative forfeiture proceedings may be used. There are exceptions, for example real estate cannot be forfeited under administrative proceedings and monetary instruments can be forfeited using administrative proceedings even if the value exceeds $500,000. Administrative proceedings cannot be used when the action is contested by the filing of a claim.

Criminal Forfeiture

The purpose of a criminal law is to punish the violator, and criminal forfeiture is imposed as part of that punishment following conviction. Criminal forfeiture is in personam or against the individual, and requires that the government indict the property used in or obtained with proceeds from the crime. Upon completion of a criminal trial, if the defendant is found guilty, criminal forfeiture proceedings are conducted in the court before a judge. The proceedings may result in a verdict forfeiting property used in the crime or obtained with proceeds from the crime. An ancillary hearing may be conducted for other parties claiming an interest in the forfeited property.

GO DOJ GO!

Anonymous said...

"Arty the Smarty is a delightful tale of a small fish who prides himself in outsmarting his enemies, even Mean Ol Crab! A must for parents who want to teach their children that even the smallest being can have a BIG impact..."

Updated for 2007: "Casey the Lazy is a horrendous tale of a small punk who prides himself on outsmarting his lenders, even Mean Ol' Cashcall! A must for relatives being mooched off of, who want to teach the moocher that even the smallest lies can have BIG consequences..." :-) :-)

Anonymous said...

lessseee, umm the fish "arty" thinks he is smarter than everyone else, he thinks he is invulnerable to being caught, and he gets his just desserts in the end. Either that or the book is about as high a reading level as Casey or his wife Galina can go without having to resort to a dictionary.

Anonymous said...

I'm sincerely bothered by the lack of stealth the DOJ is using. You think they would be smart enough to use some podunk ISP to hide themselves. maybe even have a rotating set of dummy ISPs to not raise suspecion in traffic logs.

Using fbi.gov to visit casey's website is just as effective as parking a black and white in front of Yulina's house.

Anonymous said...

Anybody notice how Casey is now calling himself a "would-be Real Estate investor?"

Anonymous said...

@anon

He's not even that, when he says he is a "failed real estate speculator and con artist", then he will be telling the truth. Riiight, when pigs fly....

Anonymous said...

Legion:

Have you read Nigel's new post? He says his federal prosecutor bud thinks Casey won't be prosecuted.

Check it here:

http://slcrealestate.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

I just finished up checking out Nigels article about why he thinks Casey will not be prosecuted.

According to his buddy, it will be the US Attorney's Office that would be in charge prosecuting something like this.

Good news,,,my sister is an assistant US Attorney in one of the States Casey has purchased a house in.

I will start to put together something for her to look at. I'd love some help in this, in terms of getting as much relevant information together that lays out the situation. Especially needed is the letter/email he wrote to get more investors, and other items such as this.

You can send any information to:
needlegalhelp@msn.com
and I will put it together and have my sister give it to the right people..Thanks...

Anonymous said...

I don't know that particular story, so I'll focus on a different one. A story by CS.

As he said (and I paraphrase here), "..it's like speeding, everyone does it...". What you haters have to accept is that Casey is right. The vast majority of motorists do speed. I suspect that a very large number of people do make lies when they state their income on mortgage applications. So lying on these is like speeding. Casey is right about this. However......

Most people who speed might do, say, 70 mph where the limit is 60. When they lie on the mortgage application, they might say that the family income is 80K when it is really 70K while they are trying to buy a 200K-300K house. For both speeding and housebuying situations, the outcome is generally no problem. However, somebody who lies about their income when they try to buy 8 or 9 houses at the same time (and don't live in any of them) is like somebody doing 250 mph on that same highway. If that person doesn't even have a source of income, then it's like a beginner driver doing 250 on the highway.

And if there are a bunch of these drivers doing 250 mph and they help cause the biggest freaking auto crash in history (see current Housing Bubble crash for analogy), then I'm sure the local DA will simply nod and say "So they were speeding. Everybody speeds. I won't charge any of them."

And they all flipped happily every after. Casey, I hope you read this and find a better analogy for what you've done. "I was just following orders.." would even work better.

NR

Anonymous said...

N Renter-

And, as has been mentioned, while many speed, myself included (+5 mph), I will pay any fine I may incur. Will Casey willingly accept the punishment of his 'everybody does it'?