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BEFORE THE UNITED STATES INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE PETITION FOR REMISSION OR MITIGATION OF KHALID QURAN

Scott Bullock Robert Everett Johnson THE INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE 901 North Glebe Road, Suite 900 Arlington, VA 22203 Phone: (703) 682-9320 Fax: (703) 682-9321 Email: rjohnson@ij.org

Attorneys for Petitioner

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 STATEMENT OF FACTS ............................................................................................................. 3 ARGUMENT .................................................................................................................................. 8 I.

The Government Has Authority To Return Khalid’s Money, And There Are No

Procedural Barriers To Granting That Relief......................................................................... 8 A. The Government Has Statutory Aut

hority To Return Khalid’s Money

........................... 9 B.

Khalid’s Prior Agreement To Forfeit The

Money Does Not Bar The Petition .............. 10 C.

Khalid’s Petition Is Timely

............................................................................................ 13 II.

Because The Seized Money Is The Legitimate Proceeds Of Khalid’s Lawful

Convenience-Store Business, It Should Be Returned In Its Entirety................................... 15 A. Return Of The Property Will Promote The Interest Of Justice And Will Not Diminish The Deterrent Effect Of The Law .................................................................. 16 B. Factors Listed In The Internal Revenue Manual Support Return Of All The Forfeited Money To Khalid ........................................................................................... 19 C. IRS Guidelines For Mitigation Likewise Support Return Of The Forfeited Money To Khalid ....................................................................................................................... 21 III. At The Very Minimum, The Government Should Return A Substantial Portion

Of Khalid’s Money

.............................................................................................................. 23 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 23

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1 Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1618 and 31 U.S.C. § 5321(c), Khalid Quran hereby petitions the Internal Revenue Service to remit or mitigate $153,907.99 that was seized from his bank account on June 20, 2014, and administratively forfeited to the United States on or about September 15, 2014. Those funds would not be seized

—

much less forfeited

—

under current government policy. Now, the government should do the right thing and give the money back.

INTRODUCTION

Khalid Quran has worked over seventeen years

—

seven days a week, every week of the year, almost never taking a vacation

—

at his convenience store in Greenville, North Carolina. Khalid came to this country with $3,000 in savings, but through hard work he managed to build a modest financial cushion. Then, suddenly and without warning, the government seized Khalid

’

s entire bank account

—

over $150,000. The government took

Khalid’s

account because he withdrew his money from the bank in amounts under $10,000. Federal law requires banks to report cash transactions over $10,000, and federal law makes it a crime

(“structuring”)

to withdraw cash in amounts under $10,000 in order to evade that reporting requirement. This law was intended to target drug dealers, money launderers, and criminals seeking to keep their activities hidden from the government. But, in

Khalid’

s case, it was applied to an innocent small business owner seeking only to make an honest living doing business in cash. Khalid withdrew money from the bank in amounts under $10,000 simply because that was the amount of money that he required to operate his lawful convenience store business. The government has never even

alleged

that the cash was used in connection with unlawful activity. Although Khalid is not a criminal, he has been treated like one. Immediately after seizing

Khalid’s

bank account, state and federal agents came to his store, conducted a search with a dog,