Back in 2021, the federal agents raided U.S. Private Vaults, a private vaulting and safe deposit box company located in Beverly Hills, CA under the suspicion that the owners of the company were involved in money laundering.
US Private Vaults had over 800 customers at the time, the vast majority were law abiding citizens that felt it necessary to use a secure storage facility to store their valubles.
More than $86 million dollars in cash and millions of dollars worth of jewelry and other valuable personal items were seized from the rightful owners, most who are innocent of any crimes or wrongdoing.
The government intends to keep the contents of more than 350 vaults, alleging that the money, precious metals, watches and other goods that they contained were the fruit of unspecified criminal activity without any proof.
Many of the customers told authorities that they used the private vaulting company to keep their money and savings because they were suspicious of the U.S. banking system and preferred to keep their savings in cash.
Some others’ were rented by state-licensed marijuana dealers with limited access to banks due to federal regulations.
Benjamin Gluck, an attorney who represents some of the box owners believes it’s a money grab by the government, insisting that “the constitutional and moral bankruptcy of the U.S. attorney’s office by showing that they’re willing to give immunity to an admitted criminal so long as he doesn’t interfere with their illegal scheme to seize money from innocent box holders.”
