COmputer Siezure From Car

[sawdawg]

I'm in NC
Can a Federal Agent Sieze a Laptop (in view) from a vehicle without a warrant?What is the name of your state?

[Some Random Guy]

Maybe.

Depends on the reasoning for why it was seized and the likelihood that the evidence would have been unavailable if the officer took the time to get a search warrant. You can have your lawyer challenge the seizure if you believe it to be unjustifiable.

Need more facts to give a better answer.

[sawdawg]

Thanks for the quick replies.

[moburkes]

Originally Posted by sawdawg

Thanks for the quick replies.

I guess that's all the facts he plans on providing.

[sawdawg]

Sorry. I'll post more later. I just got tied up at work.
Again, Thanks.

[xylene]

Please do come back, this is an interesting case.

Answer these questions:

1: Federal agent? There are many federal agencies with different jurisdictions and powers... What agency(ies) specifically did the seizing?

2: Was this seizure incident to an arrest? (ie was it seized at the time you (or someone else) were arrested?)

3: Did you receive ANY paperwork related to the seizure? If yes, what does it say. Please remember that the law deals in exact words. Exact words Greg... So don't paraphrase what you think it might mean, give the exact text.

4: Is there (or do the authorities believe / suspect their is) anything illegal on / within (like CP or tax fraud or drug debt lists betting slips...) or about the laptop (found with cash or dope)?

5: What were the general circumstances of the seizure? (Out-of-the-blue, pulled over found with contraband, part of an investigation, caught up in another persons arrest...)

[sawdawg]

Originally Posted by xylene

Please do come back, this is an interesting case.

Answer these questions:

1: Federal agent? There are many federal agencies with different jurisdictions and powers... What agency(ies) specifically did the seizing?

It was Secret Service

2: Was this seizure incident to an arrest? (ie was it seized at the time you (or someone else) were arrested?)

No one was arrested


3: Did you receive ANY paperwork related to the seizure? If yes, what does it say. Please remember that the law deals in exact words. Exact words Greg... So don't paraphrase what you think it might mean, give the exact text.

Basically just a list of the items that were took. I don't have it with me so I can't give you the exact wording.

4: Is there (or do the authorities believe / suspect their is) anything illegal on / within (like CP or tax fraud or drug debt lists betting slips...) or about the laptop (found with cash or dope)?

There is an investigation going on. Supposedly an email to a busted ATM hacker came from my home IP address. Nobody has ever heard of him. No drugs or cash involved with the Laptop.

5: What were the general circumstances of the seizure? (Out-of-the-blue, pulled over found with contraband, part of an investigation, caught up in another persons arrest...)

Thanks for the replies.

[xylene]

The secret service is looking for evidence of bank fraud (ATM hacking)

This is a very serious crime, and while it is possible your computer is only part of gathering evidence against some 'hacker' who is unknown to you... it is also possible (and probably more likely) that you are a target of a criminal probe related to these allegations of criminality.

Do you have a lawyer? You may need one in a hurry if the Secret Services exhaustive computer forensics finds evidence, even marginal evidence, that implicates you

Please be aware that crimes against the banking system are taken very seriously in this climate of VERY REAL cyberterror attacks and the looming possibilty of bank failures given the state of mortgages...

On a probability of blowover scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is nil chance of blowing over and 10 is near certain to blow over... your situation as presented is about a 3.5

Please come back with some more narrative.

[sawdawg]

OKay.
Essentially about 6 weeks the Secret Service Agent came by my house looking for my son who wasn't there. He wanted to search the house but we did not allow it. His reason was that an ATM hacker had been busted and he had an email on his computer from my IP address. That was all he would tell us.

He called back about a week later looking for my son.
He informed me that my son was in trouble and he needed to meet with him immediately. A meeting was arranged and this is the point where he siezed the computer. He also said that he didn't need a warrant.Whether he did or didn't I don't know but I do know now that they can lie all they want, but he still was never given permission to search.

We hear nothing until last Friday, and a local deputy comes by with an arrest warrant (State Charges). He has been charged with Identity Theft and 2 counts of obtaining property by false pretenses. At the Bond hearing the SS guy was there and directly lied to the magistrate when he said that he wanted Bond denied because the boy had just gotten a passport within the last wek and he was afraid he would run. My son has had a passport for over a year. I know that for fact.
We don't yet know what they have as evidence. Supposedly an eyewitness to my son purchasing Gas with a stolen credit card number.

Bond was set at $5000 and he was released.
He has retained a Lawyer and has a meeting with him on Thursday.



I hope this is readable....I'm not too great with the written word.

[Some Random Guy]

OK, so your son had is computer seized by a secret service agent who specifically said he didn't need a warrant.

If your son disagrees with this, he will need to do is get his attorney to look into that seizure and see about getting any evidence gathered from that computer removed from the criminal case against him.

However, if he was already spotted by an eyewitness using stolen credit cards, the police may not need any of that evidence.

Also, your son's attorney may be able to revisit the bond issue with the court. If you can provide the passport with an issue date of over a year ago, you can argue that the SS provided false evidence to the court.

Of course, you have to wonder WHY the SS agent would have said what he did. Did your son e-mail somebody talking about how he can skip town with his new passport? Don't waste your money on making the lawyer file motions if your son's words are going to sink his own chances.

P.S. The day that the SS agent came to your door looking for your son in connection with some federal felonies is the day he should have started looking for a good lawyer.

[sawdawg]

Thanks for all of the information.

[tranquility]

For more information and a listing of all the issues involved, go to:

[url]http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/searching.html[/url]