Langbord v. United States Department of the Treasury

OPINION

RENDELL, Circuit Judge:

Congress passed the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000 (“CAFRA”), Pub.L. No. 106-185, 114 Stat. 202, as a “reaction] to public outcry over the government’s too-zealous pursuit of civil and criminal forfeiture” and as an “effort to deter government overreaching.” United States v. Khan, 497 F.3d 204, 208 (2d Cir.2007).1 To that end, Congress crafted a statutory scheme that requires the Government, if it has seized property that someone else purports to own, to file a complaint for judicial forfeiture within 90 days of receipt of a claim (known as a “seized…