Fundraiser for Burt's Legal Defense
April 18, 2016 -- "No Greater Tyranny" article about Burt published by Keith Coniglio. Click here to read the article.
July 13, 2015 -- Federal Case Against Burt Wagner Dismissed at the Request of the Department of Justice.
On July 13, 2015, the unfounded criminal charge of not having a business license was dropped. The civil charges against our seized property were dropped in exchange for an $80,000 administrative extortion payment to the Federal Asset Forfeiture Fund. AUSA Korver refused to drop the criminal charge unless Burt agreed to let the government keep $80,000.00 of the property seized in the civil forfeiture cases.
Total Legal Fees, Costs, and Value of Civil Assets Forfeited = $287,326.00
Thank you for visiting this fundraiser site. We truly appreciate any and all help.
On October 14, 2014, our lives were forever altered when the United States Government surrounded and raided our home. According to neighbors, there were 22 vehicles and 34 Federal Law Enforcement Agents. Keep in mind that we are a family probably no different than yours. We work hard and try to save for our retirement and our 8 year old daughter's college. We are horrified that the United States Government attacked our family and treated us like terrorists.
The United States Government used the Patriot Act to target my husband, spy on my family for at least 18 months, raid our house and office using sealed search warrants, seize our personal and our corporation's property, ruin our thirty year old business, and arrest my husband under a sealed arrest warrant and put him in solitary confinement to give the federal agents more time to find more financial assets (Bitcoins) to seize. The sole federal charge? A paperwork charge -- operating an unlicensed money transmittal business. It's a spurious charge. Burt was investing in Bitcoins, buying and selling only for himself; he didn't need a business license for personal investments.
The U,S. Government dismissed the sole charge of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business in connection with Burt's trading of Bitcoins for investment purposes. Proving that the U.S. Government polices for profit, the U.S. Government also kept our cash and Bitcoins totaling over $80,000 to put in their unconstitutional Federal Asset Forfeiture Fund. They stole from us to pay themselves, bypassing Congressional allocations and violating their own asset forfeiture policies. The U.S. Justice Department's Asset Forfeiture Policy Manual clearly states that the Government should not "agrees to dismiss criminal charges in order to coerce a forfeiture settlement" (B.7 Global settlements). The case should have been dismissed with prejudice and ALL property returned.
We took a second mortgage on our house, cashed out our Roth IRAs, and used our savings to pay for Burt's Legal Defense. We appreciate any and all help in paying down the debt we incurred to pay the legal fees. The $80,000 kept by the federal government for its unconstitutional Federal Asset Forfeiture Fund would have gone a long way to paying off the legal debt incurred because of the U.S. Government's senseless attack on our family.
I have more information about the case and my viewpoint on events at my site: www.jmwagner.com
Next Event: 11/7/2018 AZ
For Jean's Account of Events visit: www.jmwagner.com
BurtW Fundraiser
Amount raised as of 5/8/017: $41,988.08
A funny, but sadly true, video about civil forfeiture by John Oliver. Click the Play button to view.