Locating a restraining order issued by a federal court

[gpslouis]

I am writing on behalf of 90 of the victims of the major household goods moving scam that is finally being prosecuted by the US Attorney in southern Ohio. Indictments were announced in a press release at:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdoh/pr/twelve-charged-moving-company-scams

Video of the press conference is here:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10155656297852227

Also see:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-moving-company-arrests-20180801-story.html

The indictments were announced at a DOJ press conference. During the press conference, the US attorney stated that a restraining order had been obtained [by the federal government] to "lock down" seven of the warehouses used by the scam moving companies so that victims' belongings would be safe. (See 5:40 into the video for the "lock down" statement".)

I am trying to get a copy of the restraining order. The DOT office of inspector general has not been able (or willing) to provide a copy. The DOJ also has not been willing to provide a copy of the restraining order. I have been unable to locate of a copy of the restraining order on Pacer.

I have a copy of the entire indictment and all other paperwork that I could find on Pacer related to the indictment, but I don't see any restraining order.

My questions are:

Would the restraining order normally be available on Pacer?

It is likely that the restraining order is "sealed" so it can't be viewed by the public?

Can a restraining order simply be issued by the DOJ without approval by a court?

Please give me some tips for getting a copy of the restraining order.

Thanks so much for any replies.

 

[adjusterjack]

The link to the video doesn't work.

You might have to keep checking PACER until the documents show up. If they don't, you might try a freedom of information act request.

If that doesn't do it you might have to resign yourself to just KNOWING that the restraining orders exist even if you can't get copies.

 

[Taxing Matters]

The DOJ also has not been willing to provide a copy of the restraining order. I have been unable to locate of a copy of the restraining order on Pacer.

It may be that the restraining order has not yet been filed by the court for recording on Pacer. There may be a variety of reasons for that. In any event, the best place to contact for a copy is the U.S. Attorney's Office that is prosecuting the case. If what you did was contact the DOJ in Washingtong it is not surprising you got nothing from that.

Jack's suggestion of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request is one that you will likely not find helpful since in practice agencies are not very fast in responding to such requests. Chances are the order will be publicly available by the time the agency responded. But you may certainly give it a try. If the order is protected and under seal, then of course it won't show up on Pacer and you wouldn't get it in a FOIA request either.

In answer to your question, the restraining order does have to come from the court.

 

[quincy]

The video works for me.

You could call the DOT Regional Investigations Office in Chicago for direction (312-353-0106) or file an FOIA request, as suggested by adjusterjack, with the Office of Inspector General, US Department of Transportation: https://www.oig.dot.gov/node/31929

You will want to refer to the Asset Forfeiture Unit in your call or request.

 

[Taxing Matters]

You could call the DOT Regional Investigations Office in Chicago for direction (312-353-0106) or file an FOIA request, as suggested by adjusterjack, with the Office of Inspector General, US Department of Transportation: https://www.oig.dot.gov/node/31929

While the DOT may be worth a try, it may not the restraining order in its records. While it is the originating agency for the investigation, the U.S. Attorney is the one actually prosecuting it. DOT may not get copies of everything the DOJ files/receives in the course of the prosecution, or at least not very quickly. The U.S. Attorney certainly would have the order in its records. The OP might have better luck with a DOJ FOIA request, as DOJ is the Department that includes the U.S. Attorney's offices. I'd try both DOT and DOJ, but again just be aware that the response from both agencies may be slow.

 

[gpslouis]

The link to the video doesn't work.

You might have to keep checking PACER until the documents show up. If they don't, you might try a freedom of information act request.

If that doesn't do it you might have to resign yourself to just KNOWING that the restraining orders exist even if you can't get copies.

The indictment was unsealed on August 1 and the press conference was on August 1. Therefore, it's been a month since the restraining order was supposedly issued. There's been more than ample time for it to show up in Pacer. Pacer even says that it takes no more than 24 hours for filings to appear in the Pacer system.

 

[gpslouis]

It may be that the restraining order has not yet been filed by the court for recording on Pacer. There may be a variety of reasons for that. In any event, the best place to contact for a copy is the U.S. Attorney's Office that is prosecuting the case. If what you did was contact the DOJ in Washingtong it is not surprising you got nothing from that.

Jack's suggestion of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request is one that you will likely not find helpful since in practice agencies are not very fast in responding to such requests. Chances are the order will be publicly available by the time the agency responded. But you may certainly give it a try. If the order is protected and under seal, then of course it won't show up on Pacer and you wouldn't get it in a FOIA request either.

In answer to your question, the restraining order does have to come from the court.

The US Attorney in southern Ohio who is prosecuting the case was contacted, not the DOJ in Washington, D.C. The US Attorney has been unwilling to even respond to the request for the file number for the restraining order. The restraining order can hardly be secret because it would have had to have been served on the owners or landlords of the warehouses, since they changed the locks on the warehouses.

 

[gpslouis]

The video works for me.

You could call the DOT Regional Investigations Office in Chicago for direction (312-353-0106) or file an FOIA request, as suggested by adjusterjack, with the Office of Inspector General, US Department of Transportation: https://www.oig.dot.gov/node/31929

You will want to refer to the Asset Forfeiture Unit in your call or request.

The DOT people say to contact the DOT OIG. We've been in contact with fairly high level people at the DOT OIG. The DOT OIG people say to contact the US Attorney.

 

[gpslouis]

It may be that the restraining order has not yet been filed by the court for recording on Pacer. There may be a variety of reasons for that. In any event, the best place to contact for a copy is the U.S. Attorney's Office that is prosecuting the case. If what you did was contact the DOJ in Washingtong it is not surprising you got nothing from that.

Jack's suggestion of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request is one that you will likely not find helpful since in practice agencies are not very fast in responding to such requests. Chances are the order will be publicly available by the time the agency responded. But you may certainly give it a try. If the order is protected and under seal, then of course it won't show up on Pacer and you wouldn't get it in a FOIA request either.

In answer to your question, the restraining order does have to come from the court.

We did contact the US Attorney's office who is prosecuting the case. They haven't been willing to provide a copy of the restraining order or even the file number for the restraining order.

 

[Taxing Matters]

The DOT people say to contact the DOT OIG. We've been in contact with fairly high level people at the DOT OIG. The DOT OIG people say to contact the US Attorney.

I'm not surprised. The U.S. attorney controls the prosecution, and the DOT will not want to do anything that might in any way hurt the prosecutor's case. So it is instead refers all inquiries to the U.S. attorney and lets that office sort out what to release. That's pretty standard for this sort of thing. You can try a FOIA request, but the U.S. Attorney may end up invoking the law enforcement exemption to FOIA and deny the request. Getting information while a criminal investigation and prosecution is ongoing can be difficult because the prosecutor will want to keep some things from the public to avoid problems that release might cause to the case. It is possible there is something in the restraining orders that the U.S. attorney does not want released to the public at this point. In any event, the prosecutor does not want it released right now, you may be stuck.

You said that you were inquiring on behalf of 90 of the victims of this alleged scam. Are you an attorney? If not, what is your role in this? Is there some reason you or the victims want to see the details of the order apart from just curiosity as to how the prosecution is going?

 

[gpslouis]

I'm not surprised. The U.S. attorney controls the prosecution, and the DOT will not want to do anything that might in any way hurt the prosecutor's case. So it is instead refers all inquiries to the U.S. attorney and lets that office sort out what to release. That's pretty standard for this sort of thing. You can try a FOIA request, but the U.S. Attorney may end up invoking the law enforcement exemption to FOIA and deny the request. Getting information while a criminal investigation and prosecution is ongoing can be difficult because the prosecutor will want to keep some things from the public to avoid problems that release might cause to the case. It is possible there is something in the restraining orders that the U.S. attorney does not want released to the public at this point. In any event, the prosecutor does not want it released right now, you may be stuck.

You said that you were inquiring on behalf of 90 of the victims of this alleged scam. Are you an attorney? If not, what is your role in this? Is there some reason you or the victims want to see the details of the order apart from just curiosity as to how the prosecution is going?

I am one of the victims. I am not an attorney. The victims are very frustrated because many of them have been without their property for several months after being scammed. We were hopeful that we'd get our property quickly after the indictments were announced, but now it seems that the federal government is in no hurry to release our property. A WMAR TV story that aired on August 30 explains our frustration. Please watch the video in addition to reading the news story.

See:
https://www.wmar2news.com/business/consumer/moving-scam-victims-begging-federal-government-for-answers

Many of the victims are looking for a way to get our property released more quickly or at least get a better understanding of why it's taking so long to release the property. The DOT OIG is calling victims almost every day to let them know that their goods have been located in warehouses but they are also saying that we have to wait until further notice before they goods be picked up. (We have a victims' Facebook group where about 90 of us are sharing information.)

 

[quincy]

I am one of the victims. I am not an attorney. The victims are very frustrated because many of them have been without their property for several months after being scammed. We were hopeful that we'd get our property quickly after the indictments were announced, but now it seems that the federal government is in no hurry to release our property. A WMAR TV story that aired on August 30 explains our frustration. Please watch the video in addition to reading the news story.

See:
https://www.wmar2news.com/business/consumer/moving-scam-victims-begging-federal-government-for-answers

Many of the victims are looking for a way to get our property released more quickly or at least get a better understanding of why it's taking so long to release the property. The DOT OIG is calling victims almost every day to let them know that their goods have been located in warehouses but they are also saying that we have to wait until further notice before they goods be picked up. (We have a victims' Facebook group where about 90 of us are sharing information.)

It is good that the Office of the Inspector General is continuing to contact you and the other victims.

You will need to file a formal FOIA request for the document(s) you want. Your request needs be specific. In other words, although the case is very familiar to you, you can not assume the same familiarity at the agency.

You can send your request to the DOT OIG as linked to earlier and you can also send the same request to the field office.

You should request the documents be supplied even if parts of it must be redacted.

Ask the agency to cite the exemptions they are claiming if your request is denied.

If your formal request is denied, you can file an administrative appeal. You need to file this appeal before you can go to court to compel the release of the document(s).

Because of the large number of victims and the quantity of items being housed in warehouses/storage units - and the good possibility that the household items were not carefully stored or separated by household - I suspect that you and the other victims will be waiting quite awhile before you can recover your goods.

The people indicted have created a mess across the country with their long term moving scam. I hope you and the others will eventually get your property returned and some satisfaction that the crooks can expect to live a large portion of the rest of their lives in prison.

Good luck.

 

[Taxing Matters]

You can send your request to the DOT OIG as linked to earlier and you can also send the same request to the field office.

Each department and independent agency has FOIA regulations/procedures that set out how FOIA requests must be submitted. Generally speaking, those requests must go to a designated FOIA office for the department/agency and should not be sent to individual field offices of an agency. You need to look up the designated office for the agency in question and submit the FOIA request there. I am quite familiar with FOIA as I used to handle some FOIA requests when I was with the federal government.

 

[quincy]

Ditto with familiarity. I stand by my advice.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Ditto with familiarity. I stand by my advice.

And I stand by my statement.