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Do You Have to Return Stolen Money That You Receive as a Gift

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  • 03-26-2018, 07:43 PM
    A Nonamus
    Do You Have to Return Stolen Money That You Receive as a Gift
    I'm talking generally about laws in the U.S.A. If the laws differ then just let me know for the state you know about.

    If someone gained money illegally but in a way that they were not directly stealing it from someone and therefore did not owe it to anyone in particular (such as if they sold drugs or illegal weapons), and then they give the money away to a friend or relative, does the person they gave it to own it legally or would they be forced to give it to the government if the person who gave it to them (the one who got it illegally) was convicted? Assume that the person who received it had no reason to believe that the money was gained illegally.
  • 03-26-2018, 08:10 PM
    adjusterjack
    Re: If You Are Given Money That Was Gained Illegally, Do You Legally Own It (Not Stol
    If the prosecutor confirmed that the illegal money was give to another person, the prosecutor could very likely get a court order for confiscation of the money no matter what the recipient believed.
  • 03-27-2018, 12:18 AM
    Taxing Matters
    Re: If You Are Given Money That Was Gained Illegally, Do You Legally Own It (Not Stol
    I disagree with the apparent kneejerk reactions of the prior people who replied. I can understand that the first reaction of many people would be that of course the government could take it because the criminal had no right to it in the first place. But it’s not that simple. It depends on exactly what the crime was and what jurisdiction’s law applies (federal or state, and if state, which state). The details of the transfer to the other person matter as well. The government does not automatically get to claim money just because it was obtained from some illegal act. There needs to be some sort of statute, like a civil forfeiture or restitution provision, that gives the government the right to confiscate it. For example, before civil forfeiture laws came around, when federal agents came across cash other assets from illegal activity and they wanted to be sure the government got a share of it, they would call the IRS. IRS agents would come out, terminate the taxpayer's tax year, immediately assess the tax, and then seize the property to pay that tax. It was a cumbersome process and of course the taxpayer had the right after the fact to contest what had been done. And of course all they could get from that was the tax that was computed on what the IRS projected the income from it was; assets above that the taxpayer/criminal got to keep as there was no basis for the government to claim it. Simply the fact that it came from illegal activity by itself was not good enough. This was part of the reason that the government was inspired to create civil forfeiture laws. And if the government could not take it from the criminal when it was in his own hands, it certainly could not take it when it had been transferred to someone else, whether as a gift or otherwise.

    In addition to that, there is the very real problem that money is fungible and tracing the money thus is an issue. Thus, in the case of money in particular, the government would have a problem in many cases showing that the money the donee got from the alleged criminal was the very money that came from the alleged criminal activity.
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