United States v. Real Property Located at 9144 Burnett Road

104 F. Supp. 3d 1187, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62981, 2015 WL 2250386
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Washington
DecidedMay 13, 2015
DocketCase No. C14-5231 RBL
StatusPublished

This text of 104 F. Supp. 3d 1187 (United States v. Real Property Located at 9144 Burnett Road) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Real Property Located at 9144 Burnett Road, 104 F. Supp. 3d 1187, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62981, 2015 WL 2250386 (W.D. Wash. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS

RONALD B. LEIGHTON, District Judge.

I. Introduction

THIS MATTER is before the Court on Claimant Diana Nemes’ Motion to Dismiss Amended Verified Complaint for Forfeiture In Rem. Claimant Diana Nemes and her husband1 were extradited to their home country of Romania for alleged tax evasion and setting up an organized crimi[1188]*1188nal group. The United States filed a civil forfeiture complaint against Nemes’ real property located in Yelm, Washington. The United States filed an amended complaint adding more defendant properties. Nemes sought dismissal, arguing that the government was erroneously relying on a bi lateral treaty, not the required multi lateral treaty, known as UNTOC2. After Oral argument, this Court granted the government leave to amend to rely on the correct treaty, which it did.

Nemes again seeks dismissal under Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). She argues that the government’s reliance on UNTOC to justify forfeiture is still insufficient. She claims that UNTOC was not intended to apply to garden variety domestic criminal offenses such as tax evasion, or the uncharged crime of money laundering. She also argues that even if UNTOC is a potentially viable forfeiture vehicle, the government’s amended complaint still fails to allege sufficient facts, and that it should be dismissed.

The United States argues that the crime of setting up an organized criminal group for the purpose of tax evasion is, by itself, a “transnational” offense extraditable under UNTOC. It claims that the money from Nemes’ specified unlawful activity was laundered to the United States, and therefore, the Yelm properties purchased with those illegal funds are forfeitable. Because the United States’ complaint alleges facts that state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face, Claimant’s Motion to Dismiss the Amended Verified Complaint for Forfeiture In Rem is DENIED.

II. BACKGROUND

The FBI’s Seattle Division conducted a joint investigation with the FBI Legal At-taché office in Bucharest, Romania and the Romanian Directiei Nationale Anticoruptie (DNA) involving the Nemes and their associates. The United States claims the Nemes were involved in a tax fraud scheme to avoid paying Romania 53 million Euro in excise taxes on imported diesel fuel. Their complaint alleges that the Nemes laundered the proceeds out of Romania, through multiple foreign accounts, and into the United States, where they ultimately purchased the properties at issue. When the scheme was discovered, the Nemes were extradited to Romania, where they were indicted for tax evasion and setting up an organized criminal group. The offenses are punishable up to eight and five years, respectively, not counting aggravating circumstances.

The United States commenced this action to forfeit the real property the Nemes left behind, claiming it was used to conceal money laundering, international money laundering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. These activities support forfeiture under this country’s criminal code. See 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(A).

The United States initially relied on a different, bilateral treaty to justify this action. The Nemes filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the complaint was improperly based on the allegation that she had committed an offense extraditable under a bilateral treaty between the United States and Romania. She argued that only multilateral treaty offenses give rise to forfeiture. This Court agreed, but, because the defect was curable, granted the United States leave to amend. The United States filed an amended forfeiture complaint relying instead on UNTOC — a multilateral treaty.

Nemes argues that forfeiture statutes must be strictly construed against the [1189]*1189government, and that the money laundering statute upon which the United States relies does not apply to foreign tax evasion offenses. She claims that UNTOC applies only to “transnational” offenses— crimes committed in or affecting more than one State — and that none of the crimes Romania charged her with are transnational in nature. Nemes also claims that even if the amended complaint asserted a cognizable legal theory, it consists largely of conclusory legal allegations that are insufficient to show a “specified unlawful activity,” her involvement in the scheme, and a variety of other elements. She argues that the United States has not pled sufficient facts to state a claim for forfeiture.

The United States argues that the crime of setting up an organized criminal group is a transnational offense, extraditable under UNTOC. And, it claims, it has amply supported its legal theory with factual allegations that, if proven, would support forfeiture.

III. Discussion

A. Fed.R.Civ.P. § 12(b)(6) Standard

Dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) may be based on either the lack of a cognizable legal theory or the absence of sufficient facts alleged under a cognizable legal theory. Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep’t, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir.1990). A plaintiffs complaint must allege facts to state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face. See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). A claim has “facial plausibility” when the party seeking relief “pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. Although the Court must accept as true the Complaint’s well-pled facts, conclusory allegations of law and unwarranted inferences will not defeat a Rule 12(c) motion. Vasquez v. L.A. County, 487 F.3d 1246, 1249 (9th Cir.2007); Sprewell v. Golden State Warriors, 266 F.3d 979, 988 (9th Cir.2001). “[A] plaintiffs obligation to provide the ‘grounds’.of his ‘entitlefment] to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do. Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (citations and footnotes omitted). This requires a plaintiff to plead “more than-an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me-accusation.” Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1949 (citing Twombly).

On a 12(b)(6) motion, “a district court should grant leave to amend even if no request to amend the pleading was made, unless it determines, that the pleading could not possibly be cured by the allegation of other facts.” Cook, Perkiss & Liehe v. N. Cal. Collection Serv., 911 F.2d 242, 247 (9th Cir.1990).

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104 F. Supp. 3d 1187, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62981, 2015 WL 2250386, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-real-property-located-at-9144-burnett-road-wawd-2015.